,,the ,,vital ,,message ,,by ,,arthur ,,conan ,,doyle ,,preface ,in ,the ,new ,revelation the first dawn of the coming change has been described4 ,in ,the ,vital ,message the sun has risen higher1 and one sees more clearly and broadly what our new relations with the ,unseen may be4 ,as ,i look into the future of the human race ,i am reminded of how once1 from amid the bleak chaos of rock and snow at the head of an ,alpine pass1 ,i looked down upon the far stretching view of ,lombardy1 shimmering in the sunshine and extending in one splendid panorama of blue lakes and green rolling hills until it melted into the golden haze which draped the far horizon4 ,such a promised land is at our very feet which1 when we attain it1 will make our present civilisation seem barren and uncouth4 ,already our vanguard is well over the pass4 ,nothing can now prevent us from reaching that wonderful land which stretches so clearly before those eyes which are opened to see it4 ,that stimulating writer1 ,v4 ,c4 ,desertis1 has remarked that the ,second ,coming1 which has always been timed to follow ,armageddon1 may be fulfilled not by a descent of the spiritual to us1 but by the ascent of our material plane to the spiritual1 and the blending of the two phases of existence4 ,it is1 at least1 a fascinating speculation4 ,but without so complete an overthrow of the partition walls as this would imply we know enough already to assure ourselves of such a close approximation as will surely deeply modify all our views of science1 of religion and of life4 ,what form these changes may take and what the evidence is upon which they will be founded are briefly set forth in this volume4 ,,arthur ,,conan ,,doyle4 ,,crowborough1 ,july1 #aiai4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,two ,,needful ,,readjustments ,,ii ,,the ,,dawning ,,of ,,the ,,light ,,iii ,,the ,,great ,,argument ,,iv ,,the ,,coming ,,world ,v ,,is ,,it ,,the ,,second ,,dawn8 ,,appendices ,a4 ,,dr4 ,,geley',s ,,experiments ,b4 ,a ,,particular ,,instance ,c4 ,,spirit ,,photography ,d4 ,,the ,,clairvoyance ,,of ,,mrs4 ,b4 ,,the ,,vital ,,message ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,two ,,needful ,,readjustments ,it has been our fate1 among all the innumerable generations of mankind1 to face the most frightful calamity that has ever befallen the world4 ,there is a basic fact which cannot be denied1 and should not be overlooked4 ,for a most important deduction must immediately follow from it4 ,that deduction is that we1 who have borne the pains1 shall also learn the lesson which they were intended to convey4 ,if we do not learn it and proclaim it1 then when can it ever be learned and proclaimed1 since there can never again be such a spiritual ploughing and harrowing and preparation for the seed8 ,if our souls1 wearied and tortured during these dreadful five years of self-sacrifice and suspense1 can show no radical changes1 then what souls will ever respond to a fresh influx of heavenly inspiration8 ,in that case the state of the human race would indeed be hopeless1 and never in all the coming centuries would there be any prospect of improvement4 ,why was this tremendous experience forced upon mankind8 ,surely it is a superficial thinker who imagines that the great ,designer of all things has set the whole planet in a ferment1 and strained every nation to exhaustion1 in order that this or that frontier be moved1 or some fresh combination be formed in the kaleidoscope of nations4 ,no1 the causes of the convulsion1 and its objects1 are more profound than that4 ,they are essentially religious1 not political4 ,they lie far deeper than the national squabbles of the day4 ,a thousand years hence those national results may matter little1 but the religious result will rule the world4 ,that religious result is the reform of the decadent ,christianity of to-day1 its simplification1 its purification1 and its reinforcement by the facts of spirit communion and the clear knowledge of what lies beyond the exit-door of death4 ,the shock of the war was meant to rouse us to mental and moral earnestness1 to give us the courage to tear away venerable shams1 and to force the human race to realise and use the vast new revelation which has been so clearly stated and so abundantly proved1 for all who will examine the statements and proofs with an open mind4 ,consider the awful condition of the world before this thunder-bolt struck it4 ,could anyone1 tracing back down the centuries and examining the record of the wickedness of man1 find anything which could compare with the story of the nations during the last twenty years6 ,think of the condition of ,russia during that time1 with her brutal aristocracy and her drunken democracy1 her murders on either side1 her ,siberian horrors1 her ,jew baitings and her corruption4 ,think of the figure of ,leopold of ,belgium1 an incarnate devil who from motives of greed carried murder and torture through a large section of ,africa1 and yet was received in every court1 and was eventually buried after a panegyric from a ,cardinal of the ,roman ,church--a church which had never once raised her voice against his diabolical career4 ,consider the similar crimes in the ,putumayo1 where ,british capitalists1 if not guilty of outrage1 can at least not be acquitted of having condoned it by their lethargy and trust in local agents4 ,think of ,turkey and the recurrent massacres of her subject races4 ,think of the heartless grind of the factories everywhere1 where work assumed a very different and more unnatural shape than the ancient labour of the fields4 ,think of the sensuality of many rich1 the brutality of many poor1 the shallowness of many fashionable1 the coldness and deadness of religion1 the absence anywhere of any deep1 true spiritual impulse4 ,think1 above all1 of the organised materialism of ,germany1 the arrogance1 the heartlessness1 the negation of everything which one could possibly associate with the living spirit of ,christ as evident in the utterances of ,catholic ,bishops1 like ,hartmann of ,cologne1 as in those of ,lutheran ,pastors4 ,put all this together and say if the human race has ever presented a more unlovely aspect4 ,when we try to find the brighter spots they are chiefly where civilisation1 as apart from religion1 has built up necessities for the community1 such as hospitals1 universities1 and organised charities1 as conspicuous in ,buddhist ,japan as in ,christian ,europe4 ,we cannot deny that there has been much virtue1 much gentleness1 much spirituality in individuals4 ,but the churches were empty husks1 which contained no spiritual food for the human race1 and had in the main ceased to influence its actions1 save in the direction of soulless forms4 ,this is not an over-coloured picture4 ,can we not see1 then1 what was the inner reason for the war8 ,can we not understand that it was needful to shake mankind loose from gossip and pink teas1 and sword-worship1 and ,saturday night drunks1 and self-seeking politics and theological quibbles--to wake them up and make them realise that they stand upon a narrow knife-edge between two awful eternities1 and that1 here and now1 they have to finish with make-beliefs1 and with real earnestness and courage face those truths which have always been palpable where indolence1 or cowardice1 or vested interests have not obscured the vision4 ,let us try to appreciate what those truths are and the direction which reform must take4 ,it is the new spiritual developments which predominate in my own thoughts1 but there are two other great readjustments which are necessary before they can take their full effect4 ,on the spiritual side ,i can speak with the force of knowledge from the beyond4 ,on the other two points of reform1 ,i make no such claim4 ,the first is that in the ,bible1 which is the foundation of our present religious thought1 we have bound together the living and the dead1 and the dead has tainted the living4 ,a mummy and an angel are in most unnatural partnership4 ,there can be no clear thinking1 and no logical teaching until the old dispensation has been placed on the shelf of the scholar1 and removed from the desk of the teacher4 ,it is indeed a wonderful book1 in parts the oldest which has come down to us1 a book filled with rare knowledge1 with history1 with poetry1 with occultism1 with folklore4 ,but it has no connection with modern conceptions of religion4 ,in the main it is actually antagonistic to them4 ,two contradictory codes have been circulated under one cover1 and the result is dire confusion4 ,the one is a scheme depending upon a special tribal ,god1 intensely anthropomorphic and filled with rage1 jealousy and revenge4 ,the conception pervades every book of the ,old ,testament4 ,even in the psalms1 which are perhaps the most spiritual and beautiful section1 the psalmist1 amid much that is noble1 sings of the fearsome things which his ,god will do to his enemies4 ,they shall go down alive into hell4 ,there is the keynote of this ancient document--a document which advocates massacre1 condones polygamy1 accepts slavery1 and orders the burning of so-called witches4 ,its ,mosaic provisions have long been laid aside4 ,we do not consider ourselves accursed if we fail to mutilate our bodies1 if we eat forbidden dishes1 fail to trim our beards1 or wear clothes of two materials4 ,but we cannot lay aside the provisions and yet regard the document as divine4 ,no learned quibbles can ever persuade an honest earnest mind that that is right4 ,one may say3 ,everyone knows that that is the old dispensation1 and is not to be acted upon4 ,it is not true4 ,it is continually acted upon1 and always will be so long as it is made part of one sacred book4 ,william the ,second acted upon it4 ,his ,german ,god which wrought such mischief in the world was the reflection of the dreadful being who ordered that captives be put under the harrow4 ,the cities of ,belgium were the reflection of the cities of ,moab4 ,every hard-hearted brute in history1 more especially in the religious wars1 has found his inspiration in the ,old ,testament4 ,smite and spare not6 ,an eye for an eye61 how readily the texts spring to the grim lips of the murderous fanatic4 ,francis on ,st4 ,bartholomew's night1 ,alva in the ,lowlands1 ,tilly at ,magdeburg1 ,cromwell at ,drogheda1 the ,covenainters at ,philliphaugh1 the ,anabaptists of ,munster1 and the early ,mormons of ,utah1 all found their murderous impulses fortified from this unholy source4 ,its red trail runs through history4 ,even where the ,new ,testament prevails1 its teaching must still be dulled and clouded by its sterner neighbour4 ,let us retain this honoured work of literature4 ,let us remove the taint which poisons the very spring of our religious thought4 ,this is1 in my opinion1 the first clearing which should be made for the more beautiful building to come4 ,the second is less important1 as it is a shifting of the point of view1 rather than an actual change4 ,it is to be remembered that ,christ's life in this world occupied1 so far as we can estimate1 #cc years1 whilst from ,his arrest to ,his resurrection was less than a week4 ,yet the whole ,christian system has come to revolve round ,his death1 to the partial exclusion of the beautiful lesson of ,his life4 ,far too much weight has been placed upon the one1 and far too little upon the other1 for the death1 beautiful1 and indeed perfect1 as it was1 could be matched by that of many scores of thousands who have died for an idea1 while the life1 with its consistent record of charity1 breadth of mind1 unselfishness1 courage1 reason1 and progressiveness1 is absolutely unique and superhuman4 ,even in these abbreviated1 translated1 and second-hand records we receive an impression such as no other life can give--an impression which fills us with utter reverence4 ,napoleon1 no mean judge of human nature1 said of it3 ,it is different with ,christ4 ,everything about ,him astonishes me4 ,his spirit surprises me1 and ,his will confounds me4 ,between ,him and anything of this world there is no possible comparison4 ,he is really a being apart4 ,the nearer ,i approach ,him and the closer ,i examine ,him1 the more everything seems above me4 ,it is this wonderful life1 its example and inspiration1 which was the real object of the descent of this high spirit on to our planet4 ,if the human race had earnestly centred upon that instead of losing itself in vain dreams of vicarious sacrifices and imaginary falls1 with all the mystical and contentious philosophy which has centred round the subject1 how very different the level of human culture and happiness would be to-day6 ,such theories1 with their absolute want of reason or morality1 have been the main cause why the best minds have been so often alienated from the ,christian system and proclaimed themselves materialists4 ,in contemplating what shocked their instincts for truth they have lost that which was both true and beautiful4 ,christ's death was worthy of ,his life1 and rounded off a perfect career1 but it is the life which ,he has left as the foundation for the permanent religion of mankind4 ,all the religious wars1 the private feuds1 and the countless miseries of sectarian contention1 would have been at least minimised1 if not avoided1 had the bare example of ,christ's life been adopted as the standard of conduct and of religion4 ,but there are certain other considerations which should have weight when we contemplate this life and its efficacy as an example4 ,one of these is that the very essence of it was that ,he critically examined religion as ,he found it1 and brought ,his robust common sense and courage to bear in exposing the shams and in pointing out the better path4 ,,that is the hall-mark of the true follower of ,christ1 and not the mute acceptance of doctrines which are1 upon the face of them1 false and pernicious1 because they come to us with some show of authority4 ,what authority have we now1 save this very life1 which could compare with those ,jewish books which were so binding in their force1 and so immutably sacred that even the misspellings or pen-slips of the scribe1 were most carefully preserved8 ,it is a simple obvious fact that if ,christ had been orthodox1 and had possessed what is so often praised as a child-like faith1 there could have been no such thing as ,christianity4 ,let reformers who love ,him take heart as they consider that they are indeed following in the footsteps of the ,master1 who has at no time said that the revelation which ,he brought1 and which has been so imperfectly used1 is the last which will come to mankind4 ,in our own times an equally great one has been released from the centre of all truth1 which will make as deep an impression upon the human race as ,christianity1 though no predominant figure has yet appeared to enforce its lessons4 ,such a figure has appeared once when the days were ripe1 and ,i do not doubt that this may occur once more4 ,one other consideration must be urged4 ,christ has not given ,his message in the first person4 ,if ,he had done so our position would be stronger4 ,it has been repeated by the hearsay and report of earnest but ill-educated men4 ,it speaks much for education in the ,roman province of ,judea that these fishermen1 publicans and others could even read or write4 ,luke and ,paul were1 of course1 of a higher class1 but their information came from their lowly predecessors4 ,their account is splendidly satisfying in the unity of the general impression which it produces1 and the clear drawing of the ,master's teaching and character4 ,at the same time it is full of inconsistencies and contradictions upon immaterial matters4 ,for example1 the four accounts of the resurrection differ in detail1 and there is no orthodox learned lawyer who dutifully accepts all four versions who could not shatter the evidence if he dealt with it in the course of his profession4 ,these details are immaterial to the spirit of the message4 ,it is not common sense to suppose that every item is inspired1 or that we have to make no allowance for imperfect reporting1 individual convictions1 oriental phraseology1 or faults of translation4 ,these have1 indeed1 been admitted by revised versions4 ,in ,his utterance about the letter and the spirit we could almost believe that ,christ had foreseen the plague of texts from which we have suffered1 even as ,he ,himself suffered at the hands of the theologians of ,his day1 who then1 as now1 have been a curse to the world4 ,we were meant to use our reasons and brains in adapting ,his teaching to the conditions of our altered lives and times4 ,much depended upon the society and mode of expression which belonged to ,his era4 ,to suppose in these days that one has literally to give all to the poor1 or that a starved ,english prisoner should literally love his enemy the ,kaiser1 or that because ,christ protested against the lax marriages of ,his day therefore two spouses who loathe each other should be for ever chained in a life servitude and martyrdom--all these assertions are to travesty ,his teaching and to take from it that robust quality of common sense which was its main characteristic4 ,to ask what is impossible from human nature is to weaken your appeal when you ask for what is reasonable4 ,it has already been stated that of the three headings under which reforms are grouped1 the exclusion of the old dispensation1 the greater attention to ,christ's life as compared to ,his death1 and the new spiritual influx which is giving us psychic religion1 it is only on the latter that one can quote the authority of the beyond4 ,here1 however1 the case is really understated4 ,in regard to the ,old ,testament ,i have never seen the matter treated in a spiritual communication4 ,the nature of ,christ1 however1 and ,his teaching1 have been expounded a score of times with some variation of detail1 but in the main as reproduced here4 ,spirits have their individuality of view1 and some carry over strong earthly prepossessions which they do not easily shed2 but reading many authentic spirit communications one finds that the idea of redemption is hardly ever spoken of1 while that of example and influence is for ever insisted upon4 ,in them ,christ is the highest spirit known1 the son of ,god1 as we all are1 but nearer to ,god1 and therefore in a more particular sense ,his son4 ,he does not1 save in most rare and special cases1 meet us when we die4 ,since souls pass over1 night and day1 at the rate of about #ajj a minute1 this would seem self-evident4 ,after a time we may be admitted to ,his presence1 to find a most tender1 sympathetic and helpful comrade and guide1 whose spirit influences all things even when ,his bodily presence is not visible4 ,this is the general teaching of the other world communications concerning ,christ1 the gentle1 loving and powerful spirit which broods ever over that world which1 in all its many spheres1 is ,his special care4 ,before passing to the new revelation1 its certain proofs and its definite teaching1 let us hark back for a moment upon the two points which have already been treated4 ,they are not absolutely vital points4 ,the fresh developments can go on and conquer the world without them4 ,there can be no sudden change in the ancient routine of our religious habits1 nor is it possible to conceive that a congress of theologians could take so heroic a step as to tear the ,bible in twain1 laying one half upon the shelf and one upon the table4 ,neither is it to be expected that any formal pronouncements could ever be made that the churches have all laid the wrong emphasis upon the story of ,christ4 ,moral courage will not rise to such a height4 ,but with the spiritual quickening and the greater earnestness which will have their roots in this bloody passion of mankind1 many will perceive what is reasonable and true1 so that even if the ,old ,testament should remain1 like some obsolete appendix in the animal frame1 to mark a lower stage through which development has passed1 it will more and more be recognised as a document which has lost all validity and which should no longer be allowed to influence human conduct1 save by way of pointing out much which we may avoid4 ,so also with the teaching of ,christ1 the mystical portions may fade gently away1 as the grosser views of eternal punishment have faded within our own lifetime1 so that while mankind is hardly aware of the change the heresy of today will become the commonplace of tomorrow4 ,these things will adjust themselves in ,god's own time4 ,what is1 however1 both new and vital are those fresh developments which will now be discussed4 ,in them may be found the signs of how the dry bones may be stirred1 and how the mummy may be quickened with the breath of life4 ,with the actual certainty of a definite life after death1 and a sure sense of responsibility for our own spiritual development1 a responsibility which cannot be put upon any other shoulders1 however exalted1 but must be borne by each individual for himself1 there will come the greatest reinforcement of morality which the human race has ever known4 ,we are on the verge of it now1 but our descendants will look upon the past century as the culmination of the dark ages when man lost his trust in ,god1 and was so engrossed in his temporary earth life that he lost all sense of spiritual reality4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,dawning ,,of ,,the ,,light ,some sixty years ago that acute thinker ,lord ,brougham remarked that in the clear sky of scepticism he saw only one small cloud drifting up and that was ,modern ,spiritualism4 ,it was a curiously inverted simile1 for one would surely have expected him to say that in the drifting clouds of scepticism he saw one patch of clear sky1 but at least it showed how conscious he was of the coming importance of the movement4 ,ruskin1 too1 an equally agile mind1 said that his assurance of immortality depended upon the observed facts of ,spiritualism4 ,scores1 and indeed hundreds1 of famous names could be quoted who have subscribed the same statement1 and whose support would dignify any cause upon earth4 ,they are the higher peaks who have been the first to catch the light1 but the dawn will spread until none are too lowly to share it4 ,let us turn1 therefore1 and inspect this movement which is most certainly destined to revolutionise human thought and action as none other has done within the ,christian era4 ,we shall look at it both in its strength and in its weakness1 for where one is dealing with what one knows to be true one can fearlessly insist upon the whole of the truth4 ,the movement which is destined to bring vitality to the dead and cold religions has been called ,modern ,spiritualism4 ,the modern is good1 since the thing itself1 in one form or another1 is as old as history1 and has always1 however obscured by forms1 been the red central glow in the depths of all religious ideas1 permeating the ,bible from end to end4 ,but the word ,spiritualism has been so befouled by wicked charlatans1 and so cheapened by many a sad incident1 that one could almost wish that some such term as psychic religion would clear the subject of old prejudices1 just as mesmerism1 after many years of obloquy1 was rapidly accepted when its name was changed to hypnotism4 ,on the other hand1 one remembers the sturdy pioneers who have fought under this banner1 and who were prepared to risk their careers1 their professional success1 and even their reputation for sanity1 by publicly asserting what they knew to be the truth4 ,their brave1 unselfish devotion must do something to cleanse the name for which they fought and suffered4 ,it was they who nursed the system which promises to be1 not a new religion--it is far too big for that--but part of the common heritage of knowledge shared by the whole human race4 ,perfected ,spiritualism1 however1 will probably bear about the same relation to the ,spiritualism of #ahej as a modern locomotive to the bubbling little kettle which heralded the era of steam4 ,it will end by being rather the proof and basis of all religions than a religion in itself4 ,we have already too many religions--but too few proofs4 ,those first manifestations at ,hydesville varied in no way from many of which we have record in the past1 but the result arising from them differed very much1 because1 for the first time1 it occurred to a human being not merely to listen to inexplicable sounds1 and to fear them or marvel at them1 but to establish communication with them4 ,john ,wesley's father might have done the same more than a century before had the thought occurred to him when he was a witness of the manifestations at ,epworth in #agbf4 ,it was only when the young ,fox girl struck her hands together and cried ,do as ,i do that there was instant compliance1 and consequent proof of the presence of an ,,intelligent invisible force1 thus differing from all other forces of which we know4 ,the circumstances were humble1 and even rather sordid1 upon both sides of the veil1 human and spirit1 yet it was1 as time will more and more clearly show1 one of the turning points of the world's history1 greater far than the fall of thrones or the rout of armies4 ,some artist of the future will draw the scene--the sitting-room of the wooden1 shack-like house1 the circle of half-awed and half-critical neighbours1 the child clapping her hands with upturned laughing face1 the dark corner shadows where these strange new forces seem to lurk--forces often apparent1 and now come to stay and to effect the complete revolution of human thought4 ,we may well ask why should such great results arise from such petty sources8 ,so argued the highbrowed philosophers of ,greece and ,rome when the outspoken ,paul1 with the fisherman ,peter and his half-educated disciples1 traversed all their learned theories1 and with the help of women1 slaves1 and schismatic ,jews1 subverted their ancient creeds4 ,one can but answer that ,providence has its own way of attaining its results1 and that it seldom conforms to our opinion of what is most appropriate4 ,we have a larger experience of such phenomena now1 and we can define with some accuracy what it was that happened at ,hydesville in the year #ahdh4 ,we know that these matters are governed by law and by conditions as much as any other phenomena of the universe1 though at the moment it seemed to the public to be an isolated and irregular outburst4 ,on the one hand1 you had a material1 earth-bound spirit of a low order of development which needed a physical medium in order to be able to indicate its presence4 ,on the other1 you had that rare thing1 a good physical medium4 ,the result followed as surely as the flash follows when the electric battery and wire are both properly adjusted4 ,corresponding experiments1 where effect1 and cause duly follow1 are being worked out at the present moment by ,professor ,crawford1 of ,belfast1 as detailed in his two recent books1 where he shows that there is an actual loss of weight of the medium in exact proportion to the physical phenomenon produced4#a ,the whole secret of mediumship on this material side appears to lie in the power1 quite independent of oneself1 of passively giving up some portion of one's bodily substance for the use of outside influences4 ,why should some have this power and some not8 ,we do not know--nor do we know why one should have the ear for music and another not4 ,each is born in us1 and each has little connection with our moral natures4 ,at first it was only physical mediumship which was known1 and public attention centred upon moving tables1 automatic musical instruments1 and other crude but obvious examples of outside influence1 which were unhappily very easily imitated by rogues4 ,since then we have learned that there are many forms of mediumship1 so different from each other that an expert at one may have no powers at all at the other4 ,the automatic writer1 the clairvoyant1 the crystal-seer1 the trance speaker1 the photographic medium1 the direct voice medium1 and others1 are all1 when genuine1 the manifestations of one force1 which runs through varied channels as it did in the gifts ascribed to the disciples4 ,the unhappy outburst of roguery was helped1 no doubt1 by the need for darkness claimed by the early experimenters--a claim which is by no means essential1 since the greatest of all mediums1 ,d4 ,d4 ,home1 was able by the exceptional strength of his powers to dispense with it4 ,at the same time the fact that darkness rather than light1 and dryness rather than moisture1 are helpful to good results has been abundantly manifested1 and points to the physical laws which underlie the phenomena4 ,the observation made long afterwards that wireless telegraphy1 another etheric force1 acts twice as well by night as by day1 may1 corroborate the general conclusions of the early ,spiritualists1 while their assertion that the least harmful light is red light has a suggestive analogy in the experience of the photographer4 ,there is no space here for the history of the rise and development of the movement4 ,it provoked warm adhesion and fierce opposition from the start4 ,professor ,hare and ,horace ,greeley were among the educated minority who tested and endorsed its truth4 ,it was disfigured by many grievous incidents1 which may explain but does not excuse the perverse opposition which it encountered in so many quarters4 ,this opposition was really largely based upon the absolute materialism of the age1 which would not admit that there could exist at the present moment such conditions as might be accepted in the far past4 ,when actually brought in contact with that life beyond the grave which they professed to believe in1 these people winced1 recoiled1 and declared it impossible4 ,the science of the day was also rooted in materialism1 and discarded all its own very excellent axioms when it was faced by an entirely new and unexpected proposition4 ,faraday declared that in approaching a new subject one should make up one's mind a priori as to what is possible and what is not6 ,huxley said that the messages1 ,,even ,,if ,,true1 interested him no more than the gossip of curates in a cathedral city4 ,darwin said3 ,god help us if we are to believe such things4 ,herbert ,spencer declared against it1 but had no time to go into it4 ,at the same time all science did not come so badly out of the ordeal4 ,as already mentioned1 ,professor ,hare1 of ,philadelphia1 inventor1 among other things1 of the oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe1 was the first man of note who had the moral courage1 after considerable personal investigation1 to declare that these new and strange developments were true4 ,he was followed by many medical men1 both in ,america and in ,britain1 including ,dr4 ,elliotson1 one of the leaders of free thought in this country4 ,professor ,crookes1 the most rising chemist in ,europe1 ,dr4 ,russel ,wallace the great naturalist1 ,varley the electrician1 ,flammarion the ,french astronomer1 and many others1 risked their scientific reputations in their brave assertions of the truth4 ,these men were not credulous fools4 ,they saw and deplored the existence of frauds4 ,crookes' letters upon the subject are still extant4 ,in very many cases it was the ,spiritualists themselves who exposed the frauds4 ,they laughed1 as the public laughed1 at the sham ,shakespeares and vulgar ,caesars who figured in certain seance rooms4 ,they deprecated also the low moral tone which would turn such powers to prophecies about the issue of a race or the success of a speculation4 ,but they had that broader vision and sense of proportion which assured them that behind all these follies and frauds there lay a mass of solid evidence which could not be shaken1 though like all evidence1 it had to be examined before it could be appreciated4 ,they were not such simpletons as to be driven away from a great truth because there are some dishonest camp followers who hang upon its skirts4 ,a great centre of proof and of inspiration lay during those early days in ,mr4 ,d4 ,d4 ,home1 a ,scottish-,american1 who possessed powers which make him one of the most remarkable personalities of whom we have any record4 ,home's life1 written by his second wife1 is a book which deserves very careful reading4 ,this man1 who in some aspects was more than a man1 was before the public for nearly thirty years4 ,during that time he never received payment for his services1 and was always ready1 to put himself at the disposal of any bona-fide and reasonable enquirer4 ,his phenomena were produced in full light1 and it was immaterial to him whether the sittings were in his own rooms or in those of his friends4 ,so high were his principles that upon one occasion1 though he was a man of moderate means and less than moderate health1 he refused the princely fee of two thousand pounds offered for a single sitting by the ,union ,circle in ,paris4 ,as to his powers1 they seem to have included every form of mediumship in the highest degree--self-levitation1 as witnessed by hundreds of credible witnesses2 the handling of fire1 with the power of conferring like immunity upon others2 the movement without human touch of heavy objects2 the visible materialisation of spirits2 miracles of healing2 and messages from the dead1 such as that which converted the hard-headed ,scot1 ,robert ,chambers1 when ,home repeated to him the actual dying words of his young daughter4 ,all this came from a man of so sweet a nature and of so charitable a disposition1 that the union of all qualities would seem almost to justify those who1 to ,home's great embarrassment1 were prepared to place him upon a pedestal above humanity4 ,the genuineness of his psychic powers has never been seriously questioned1 and was as well recognised in ,rome and ,paris as in ,london4 ,one incident only darkened his career1 and it1 was one in which he was blameless1 as anyone who carefully weighs the evidence must admit4 ,i allude to the action taken against him by ,mrs4 ,lyon1 who1 after adopting him as her son and settling a large sum of money upon him1 endeavoured to regain1 and did regain1 this money by her unsupported assertion that he had persuaded her illicitly to make him the allowance4 ,the facts of his life are1 in my judgment1 ample proof of the truth of the ,spiritualist position1 if no other proof at all had been available4 ,it is to be remarked in the career of this entirely honest and unvenal medium that he had periods in his life when his powers deserted him completely1 that he could foresee these lapses1 and that1 being honest and unvenal1 he simply abstained from all attempts until the power returned4 ,it is this intermittent character of the gift which is1 in my opinion1 responsible for cases when a medium who has passed the most rigid tests upon certain occasions is afterwards detected in simulating1 very clumsily1 the results which he had once successfully accomplished4 ,the real power having failed1 he has not the moral courage to admit it1 nor the self-denial to forego his fee which he endeavours to earn by a travesty of what was once genuine4 ,such an explanation would cover some facts which otherwise are hard to reconcile4 ,we must also admit that some mediums are extremely irresponsible and feather-headed people4 ,a friend of mine1 who sat with ,eusapia ,palladino1 assured me that he saw her cheat in the most childish and bare-faced fashion1 and yet immediately afterwards incidents occurred which were absolutely beyond any1 normal powers to produce4 ,apart from ,home1 another episode which marks a stage in the advance of this movement was the investigation and report by the ,dialectical ,society in the year #ahfi4 ,this body was composed of men of various learned professions who gathered together to investigate the alleged facts1 and ended by reporting that they really ,,were facts4 ,they were unbiased1 and their conclusions were founded upon results which were very soberly set forth in their report1 a most convincing document which1 even now in #aiai1 after the lapse of fifty years1 is far more intelligent than the greater part of current opinion upon this subject4 ,none the less1 it was greeted by a chorus of ridicule by the ignorant ,press of that day1 who1 if the same men had come to the opposite conclusion in spite of the evidence1 would have been ready to hail their verdict as the undoubted end of a pernicious movement4 ,in the early days1 about #ahfc1 a book was written by ,mrs4 de ,morgan1 the wife of the well-known mathematician ,professor de ,morgan1 entitled ,from ,matter to ,spirit4 ,there is a sympathetic preface by the husband4 ,the book is still well worth reading1 for it is a question whether anyone has shown greater brain power in treating the subject4 ,in it the prophecy is made that as the movement develops the more material phenomena will decrease and their place be taken by the more spiritual1 such as automatic writing4 ,this forecast has been fulfilled1 for though physical mediums still exist the other more subtle forms greatly predominate1 and call for far more discriminating criticism in judging their value and their truth4 ,two very convincing forms of mediumship1 the direct voice and spirit photography1 have also become prominent4 ,each of these presents such proof that it is impossible for the sceptic to face them1 and he can only avoid them by ignoring them4 ,in the case of the direct voice one of the leading exponents is ,mrs4 ,french1 an amateur medium in ,america1 whose work is described both by ,mr4 ,funk and ,mr4 ,randall4 ,she is a frail elderly lady1 yet in her presence the most masculine and robust voices make communications1 even when her own mouth is covered4 ,i have myself investigated the direct voice in the case of four different mediums1 two of them amateurs1 and can have no doubt of the reality of the voices1 and that they are not the effect of ventriloquism4 ,i was more struck by the failures than by the successes1 and cannot easily forget the passionate pantings with which some entity strove hard to reveal his identity to me1 but without success4 ,one of these mediums was tested afterwards by having the mouth filled with coloured water1 but the voice continued as before4 ,as to spirit photography1 the most successful results are obtained by the ,crewe circle in ,england1 under the mediumship of ,mr4 ,hope and ,mrs4 ,buxton4#b ,i have seen scores of these photographs1 which in several cases reproduce exact images of the dead which do not correspond with any pictures of them taken during life4 ,i have seen father1 mother1 and dead soldier son1 all taken together with the dead son looking far the happier and not the least substantial of the three4 ,it is in these varied forms of proof that the impregnable strength of the evidence lies1 for how absurd do explanations of telepathy1 unconscious cerebration or cosmic memory become when faced by such phenomena as spirit photography1 materialisation1 or the direct voice4 ,only one hypothesis can cover every branch of these manifestations1 and that is the system of extraneous life and action which has always1 for seventy years1 held the field for any reasonable mind which had impartially considered the facts4 ,i have spoken of the need for careful and cool-headed analysis in judging the evidence where automatic writing is concerned4 ,one is bound to exclude spirit explanations until all natural ones have been exhausted1 though ,i do not include among natural ones the extreme claims of far-fetched telepathy such as that another person can read in your thoughts things of which you were never yourself aware4 ,such explanations are not explanations1 but mystifications and absurdities1 though they seem to have a special attraction for a certain sort of psychical researcher1 who is obviously destined to go on researching to the end of time1 without ever reaching any conclusion save that of the patience of those who try to follow his reasoning4 ,to give a good example of valid automatic script1 chosen out of many which ,i could quote1 ,i would draw the reader's attention to the facts as to the excavations at ,glastonbury1 as detailed in ,the ,gate of ,remembrance by ,mr4 ,bligh ,bond4 ,mr4 ,bligh ,bond1 by the way1 is not a ,spiritualist1 but the same cannot be said of the writer of the automatic script1 an amateur medium1 who was able to indicate the secrets of the buried abbey1 which were proved to be correct when the ruins were uncovered4 ,i can truly say that1 though ,i have read much of the old monastic life1 it has never been brought home to me so closely as by the messages and descriptions of dear old ,brother ,johannes1 the earth-bound spirit--earthbound by his great love for the old abbey in which he had spent his human life4 ,this book1 with its practical sequel1 may be quoted as an excellent example of automatic writing at its highest1 for what telepathic explanation can cover the detailed description of objects which lie unseen by any human eye8 ,it must be admitted1 however1 that in automatic writing you are at one end of the telephone1 if one may use such a simile1 and you have1 no assurance as to who is at the other end4 ,you may have wildly false messages suddenly interpolated among truthful ones--messages so detailed in their mendacity that it is impossible to think that they are not deliberately false4 ,when once we have accepted the central fact that spirits change little in essentials when leaving the body1 and that in consequence the world is infested by many low and mischievous types1 one can understand that these untoward incidents are rather a confirmation of ,spiritualism than an argument against it4 ,personally ,i have received and have been deceived by several such messages4 ,at the same time ,i can say that after an experience of thirty years of such communications ,i have never known a blasphemous1 an obscene or an unkind sentence come through4 ,i admit1 however1 that ,i have heard of such cases4 ,like attracts like1 and one should know one's human company before one joins in such intimate and reverent rites4 ,in clairvoyance the same sudden inexplicable deceptions appear4 ,i have closely followed the work of one female medium1 a professional1 whose results are so extraordinarily good that in a favourable case she will give the full names of the deceased as well as the most definite and convincing test messages4 ,yet among this splendid series of results ,i have notes of several in which she was a complete failure and absolutely wrong upon essentials4 ,how can this be explained8 ,we can only answer that conditions were obviously not propitious1 but why or how are among the many problems of the future4 ,it is a profound and most complicated subject1 however easily it may be settled by the ridiculous nonsense school of critics4 ,i look at the row of books upon the left of my desk as ,i write--ninety-six solid volumes1 many of them annotated and well thumbed1 and yet ,i know that ,i am like a child wading ankle deep in the margin of an illimitable ocean4 ,but this1 at least1 ,i have very clearly realised1 that the ocean is there and that the margin is part of it1 and that down that shelving shore the human race is destined to move slowly to deeper waters4 ,in the next chapter1 ,i will endeavour to show what is the purpose of the ,creator in this strange revelation of new intelligent forces impinging upon our planet4 ,it is this view of the question which must justify the claim that this movement1 so long the subject of sneers and ridicule1 is absolutely the most important development in the whole history of the human race1 so important that1 if we could conceive one single man discovering and publishing it1 he would rank before ,christopher ,columbus as a discoverer of new worlds1 before ,paul as a teacher of new religious truths1 and before ,isaac ,newton as a student of the laws of the ,universe4 ,before opening up this subject there is one consideration which should have due weight1 and yet seems continually to be overlooked4 ,the differences between various sects are a very small thing as compared to the great eternal duel between materialism and the spiritual view of the ,universe4 ,that is the real fight4 ,it is a fight in which the ,churches championed the anti-material view1 but they have done it so unintelligently1 and have been continually placed in such false positions1 that they have always been losing4 ,since the days of ,hume and ,voltaire and ,gibbon the fight has slowly but steadily rolled in favour of the attack4 ,then came ,darwin1 showing with apparent truth1 that man has never fallen but always risen4 ,this cut deep into the philosophy of orthodoxy1 and it is folly to deny it4 ,then again came the so-called ,higher ,criticism1 showing alleged flaws and cracks in the very foundations4 ,all this time the churches were yielding ground1 and every retreat gave a fresh jumping-off place for a new assault4 ,it has gone so far that at the present moment a very large section of the people of this country1 rich and poor1 are out of all sympathy not only with the churches but with the whole ,spiritual view4 ,now1 we intervene with our positive knowledge and actual proof--an ally so powerful that we are capable of turning the whole tide of battle and rolling it back for ever against materialism4 ,we can say3 ,we will meet you on your own ground and show you by material and scientific tests that the soul and personality survive4 ,that is the aim of ,psychic ,science1 and it has been fully attained4 ,it means an end to materialism for ever4 ,and yet this movement1 this ,spiritual movement1 is hooted at and reviled by ,rome1 by ,canterbury and even by ,little ,bethel1 each of them for once acting in concert1 and including in their battle line such strange allies as the ,scientific ,agnostics and the militant ,free-thinkers4 ,father ,vaughan and the ,bishop of ,london1 the ,rev4 ,f4 ,b4 ,meyer and ,mr4 ,clodd1 ,the ,church ,times and ,the ,freethinker1 are united in battle1 though they fight with very different battle cries1 the one declaring that the thing is of the devil1 while the other is equally clear that it does not exist at all4 ,the opposition of the materialists is absolutely intelligent since it is clear that any man who has spent his life in saying ,no to all extramundane forces is1 indeed1 in a pitiable position when1 after many years1 he has to recognise that his whole philosophy is built upon sand and that ,yes was the answer from the beginning4 ,but as to the religious bodies1 what words can express their stupidity and want of all proportion in not running halfway and more to meet the greatest ally who has ever intervened to change their defeat into victory8 ,what gifts this all-powerful ally brings with him1 and what are the terms of his alliance1 will now be considered4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,great ,,argument ,the physical basis of all psychic belief is that the soul is a complete duplicate of the body1 resembling it in the smallest particular1 although constructed in some far more tenuous material4 ,in ordinary conditions these two bodies are intermingled so that the identity of the finer one is entirely obscured4 ,at death1 however1 and under certain conditions in the course of life1 the two divide and can be seen separately4 ,death differs from the conditions of separation before death in that there is a complete break between the two bodies1 and life is carried on entirely by the lighter of the two1 while the heavier1 like a cocoon from which the living occupant has escaped1 degenerates and disappears1 the world burying the cocoon with much solemnity by taking little pains to ascertain what has become of its nobler contents4 ,it is a vain thing to urge that science has not admitted this contention1 and that the statement is pure dogmatism4 ,the science which has not examined the facts has1 it is true1 not admitted the contention1 but its opinion is manifestly worthless1 or at the best of less weight than that of the humblest student of psychic phenomena4 ,the real science which has examined the facts is the only valid authority1 and it is practically unanimous4 ,i have made personal appeals to at least one great leader of science to examine the facts1 however superficially1 without any success1 while ,sir ,william ,crookes appealed to ,sir ,george ,stokes1 the ,secretary of the ,royal ,society1 one of the most bitter opponents of the movement1 to come down to his laboratory and see the psychic force at work1 but he took no notice4 ,what weight has science of that sort8 ,it can only be compared to that theological prejudice which caused the ,ecclesiastics in the days of ,galileo to refuse to look through the telescope which he held out to them4 ,it is possible to write down the names of fifty professors in great seats of learning who have examined and endorsed these facts1 and the list would include many of the greatest intellects which the world has produced in our time--,flammarion and ,lombroso1 ,charles ,richet and ,russel ,wallace1 ,willie ,reichel1 ,myers1 ,zollner1 ,james1 ,lodge1 and ,crookes4 ,therefore the facts ,,have been endorsed by the only science that has the right to express an opinion4 ,i have never1 in my thirty years of experience1 known one single scientific man who went thoroughly into this matter and did not end by accepting the ,spiritual solution4 ,such may exist1 but ,i repeat that ,i have never heard of him4 ,let us1 then1 with confidence examine this matter of the spiritual body1 to use the term made classical by ,saint ,paul4 ,there are many signs in his writings that ,paul was deeply versed in psychic matters1 and one of these is his exact definition of the natural and spiritual bodies in the service which is the final farewell to life of every ,christian4 ,paul picked his words1 and if he had meant that man consisted of a natural body and a spirit he would have said so4 ,when he said a spiritual body he meant a body which contained the spirit and yet was distinct from the ordinary natural body4 ,that is exactly what psychic science has now shown to be true4 ,when a man has taken hashish or certain other drugs1 he not infrequently has the experience that he is standing or floating beside his own body1 which he can see stretched senseless upon the couch4 ,so also under anaesthetics1 particularly under laughing gas1 many people are conscious of a detachment from their bodies1 and of experiences at a distance4 ,i have myself seen very clearly my wife and children inside a cab while ,i was senseless in the dentist's chair4 ,again1 when a man is fainting or dying1 and his system in an unstable condition1 it is asserted in very many definite instances that he can1 and does1 manifest himself to others at a distance4 ,these phantasms of the living1 which have been so carefully explored and docketed by ,messrs4 ,myers and ,gurney1 ran into hundreds of cases4 ,some people claim that by an effort of will they can1 after going to sleep1 propel their own doubles in the direction which they desire1 and visit those whom they wish to see4 ,thus there is a great volume of evidence--how great no man can say who has not spent diligent years in exploring it--which vouches for the existence of this finer body containing the precious jewels of the mind and spirit1 and leaving only gross confused animal functions in its heavier companion4 ,mr4 ,funk1 who is a critical student of psychic phenomena1 and also the joint compiler of the standard ,american dictionary1 narrates a story in point which could be matched from other sources4 ,he tells of an ,american doctor of his acquaintance1 and he vouches personally for the truth of the incident4 ,this doctor1 in the course of a cataleptic seizure in ,florida1 was aware that he had left his body1 which he saw lying beside him4 ,he had none the less preserved his figure and his identity4 ,the thought of some friend at a distance came into his mind1 and after an appreciable interval he found himself in that friend's room1 half way across the continent4 ,he saw his friend1 and was conscious that his friend saw him4 ,he afterwards returned to his own room1 stood beside his own senseless body1 argued within himself whether he should re-occupy it or not1 and finally1 duty overcoming inclination1 he merged his two frames together and continued his life4 ,a letter from him to his friend explaining matters crossed a letter from the friend1 in which he told how he also had been aware of his presence4 ,the incident is narrated in detail in ,mr4 ,funk's ,psychic ,riddle4 ,i do not understand how any man can examine the many instances coming from various angles of approach without recognising that there really is a second body of this sort1 which incidentally goes far to account for all stories1 sacred or profane1 of ghosts1 apparitions and visions4 ,now1 what is this second body1 and how does it fit into modern religious revelation8 ,what it is1 is a difficult question1 and yet when science and imagination unite1 as ,tyndall said they should unite1 to throw a searchlight into the unknown1 they may produce a beam sufficient to outline vaguely what will become clearer with the future advance of our race4 ,science has demonstrated that while ether pervades everything the ether which is actually in a body is different from the ether outside it4 ,bound ether is the name given to this1 which ,fresnel and others have shown to be denser4 ,now1 if this fact be applied to the human body1 the result would be that1 if all that is visible of that body were removed1 there would still remain a complete and absolute mould of the body1 formed in bound ether which would be different from the ether around it4 ,this argument is more solid than mere speculation1 and it shows that even the soul may come to be defined in terms of matter and is not altogether such stuff as dreams are made of4 ,it has been shown that there is some good evidence for the existence of this second body apart from psychic religion1 but to those who have examined that religion it is the centre of the whole system1 sufficiently real to be recognised by clairvoyants1 to be heard by clairaudients1 and even to make an exact impression upon a photographic plate4 ,of the latter phenomenon1 of which ,i have had some very particular opportunities of judging1 ,i have no more doubt than ,i have of the ordinary photography of commerce4 ,it had already been shown by the astronomers that the sensitized plate is a more delicate recording instrument than the human retina1 and that it can show stars upon a long exposure which the eye has never seen4 ,it would appear that the spirit world is really so near to us that a very little extra help under correct conditions of mediumship will make all the difference4 ,thus the plate1 instead of the eye1 may bring the loved face within the range of vision1 while the trumpet1 acting as a megaphone1 may bring back the familiar voice where the spirit whisper with no mechanical aid was still inaudible4 ,so loud may the latter phenomenon be that in one case1 of which ,i have the record1 the dead man's dog was so excited at hearing once more his master's voice that he broke his chain1 and deeply scarred the outside of the seance room door in his efforts to force an entrance4 ,now1 having said so much of the spirit body1 and having indicated that its presence is not vouched for by only one line of evidence or school of thought1 let us turn to what happens at the time of death1 according to the observation of clairvoyants on this side and the posthumous accounts of the dead upon the other4 ,it is exactly what we should expect to happen1 granted the double identity4 ,in a painless and natural process the lighter disengages itself from the heavier1 and slowly draws itself off until it stands with the same mind1 the same emotions1 and an exactly similar body1 beside the couch of death1 aware of those around and yet unable to make them aware of it1 save where that finer spiritual eyesight called clairvoyance exists4 ,how1 we may well ask1 can it see without the natural organs8 ,how did the hashish victim see his own unconscious body8 ,how did the ,florida doctor see his friend8 ,there is a power of perception in the spiritual body which does give the power4 ,we can say no more4 ,to the clairvoyant the new spirit seems like a filmy outline4 ,to the ordinary man it is invisible4 ,to another spirit it would1 no doubt1 seem as normal and substantial as we appear to each other4 ,there is some evidence that it refines with time1 and is therefore nearer to the material at the moment of death or closely after it1 than after a lapse of months or years4 ,hence1 it is that apparitions of the dead are most clear and most common about the time of death1 and hence also1 no doubt1 the fact that the cataleptic physician already quoted was seen and recognised by his friend4 ,the meshes of his ether1 if the phrase be permitted1 were still heavy with the matter from which they had only just been disentangled4 ,having disengaged itself from grosser matter1 what happens to this spirit body1 the precious bark which bears our all in all upon this voyage into unknown seas8 ,very many accounts have come back to us1 verbal and written1 detailing the experiences of those who have passed on4 ,the verbal are by trance mediums1 whose utterances appear to be controlled by outside intelligences4 ,the written from automatic writers whose script is produced in the same way4 ,at these words the critic naturally and reasonably shies1 with a ,what nonsense6 ,how can you control the statement of this medium who is consciously or unconsciously pretending to inspiration8 ,this is a healthy scepticism1 and should animate every experimenter who tests a new medium4 ,the proofs must lie in the communication itself4 ,if they are not present1 then1 as always1 we must accept natural rather than unknown explanations4 ,but they are continually present1 and in such obvious forms that no one can deny them4 ,there is a certain professional medium to whom ,i have sent many1 mothers who were in need of consolation4 ,i always ask the applicants to report the result to me1 and ,i have their letters of surprise and gratitude before me as ,i write4 ,thank you for this beautiful and interesting experience4 ,she did not make a single mistake about their names1 and everything she said was correct4 ,in this case there was a rift between husband and wife before death1 but the medium was able1 unaided1 to explain and clear up the whole matter1 mentioning the correct circumstances1 and names of everyone concerned1 and showing the reasons for the non-arrival of certain letters1 which had been the cause of the misunderstanding4 ,the next case was also one of husband and wife1 but it is the husband who is the survivor4 ,he says3 ,it was a most successful sitting4 ,among other things1 ,i addressed a remark in ,danish to my wife 7who is a ,danish girl71 and the answer came back in ,english without the least hesitation4 ,the next case was again of a man who had lost a very dear male friend4 ,i have had the most wonderful results with ,mrs4 ---- to-day4 ,i cannot tell you the joy it has been to me4 ,many grateful thanks for your help4 ,the next one says3 ,mrs4 ---- was simply wonderful4 ,if only more people knew1 what agony they would be spared4 ,in this case the wife got in touch with the husband1 and the medium mentioned correctly five dead relatives who were in his company4 ,the next is a case of mother and son4 ,i saw ,mrs4 ---- to-day1 and obtained very wonderful results4 ,she told me nearly everything quite correctly--a very few mistakes4 ,the next is similar4 ,we were quite successful4 ,my boy even reminded me of something that only he and ,i knew4 ,says another3 ,my boy reminded me of the day when he sowed turnip seed upon the lawn4 ,only he could have known of this4 ,these are fair samples of the letters1 of which ,i hold a large number4 ,they are from people who present themselves from among the millions living in ,london1 or the provinces1 and about whose affairs the medium had no possible normal way of knowing4 ,of all the very numerous cases which ,i have sent to this medium ,i have only had a few which have been complete failures4 ,on quoting my results to ,sir ,oliver ,lodge1 he remarked that his own experience with another medium had been almost identical4 ,it is no exaggeration to say that our ,british telephone systems would probably give a larger proportion of useless calls4 ,how is any critic to get beyond these facts save by ignoring or misrepresenting them8 ,healthy1 scepticism is the basis of all accurate observation1 but there comes a time when incredulity means either culpable ignorance or else imbecility1 and this time has been long past in the matter of spirit intercourse4 ,in my own case1 this medium mentioned correctly the first name of a lady who had died in our house1 gave several very characteristic messages from her1 described the only two dogs which we have ever kept1 and ended by saying that a young officer was holding up a gold coin by which ,i would recognise him4 ,i had lost my brother-in-law1 an army doctor1 in the war1 and ,i had given him a spade guinea for his first fee1 which he always wore on his chain4 ,there were not more than two or three close relatives who knew about this incident1 so that the test was a particularly good one4 ,she made no incorrect statements1 though some were vague4 ,after ,i had revealed the identity of this medium several pressmen attempted to have test seances with her--a test seance being1 in most cases1 a seance which begins by breaking every psychic condition and making success most improbable4 ,one of these gentlemen1 ,mr4 ,ulyss ,rogers1 had very fair results4 ,another sent from ,truth had complete failure4 ,it must be understood that these powers do not work from the medium1 but through the medium1 and that the forces in the beyond have not the least sympathy with a smart young pressman in search of clever copy1 while they have a very different feeling to a bereaved mother who prays with all her broken heart that some assurance may be given her that the child of her love is not gone from her for ever4 ,when this fact is mastered1 and it is understood that ,stand and deliver methods only excite gentle derision on the other side1 we shall find some more intelligent manner of putting things of the spirit to the proof4#c ,i have dwelt upon these results1 which could be matched by other mediums1 to show that we have solid and certain reasons to say that the verbal reports are not from the mediums themselves4 ,readers of ,arthur ,hill's ,psychical ,investigations will find many even more convincing cases4 ,so in the written communications1 ,i have in a previous paper pointed to the ,gate of ,remembrance case1 but there is a great mass of material which proves that1 in spite of mistakes and failures1 there really is a channel of communication1 fitful and evasive sometimes1 but entirely beyond coincidence or fraud4 ,these1 then1 are the usual means by which we receive psychic messages1 though table tilting1 ouija boards1 glasses upon a smooth surface1 or anything which can be moved by the vital animal-magnetic force already discussed will equally serve the purpose4 ,often information is conveyed orally or by writing which could not have been known to anyone concerned4 ,mr4 ,wilkinson has given details of the case where his dead son drew attention to the fact that a curio 7a coin bent by a bullet7 had been overlooked among his effects4 ,sir ,william ,barrett has narrated how a young officer sent a message leaving a pearl tie-pin to a friend4 ,no one knew that such a pin existed1 but it was found among his things4 ,the death of ,sir ,hugh ,lane was given at a private seance in ,dublin before the details of the ,lusitania disaster had been published4#d ,on that morning we ourselves1 in a small seance1 got the message ,it is terrible1 terrible1 and will greatly affect the war1 at a time when we were convinced that no great loss of life could have occurred4 ,such examples are very numerous1 and are only quoted here to show how impossible it is to invoke telepathy as the origin of such messages4 ,there is only one explanation which covers the facts4 ,they are what they say they are1 messages from those who have passed on1 from the spiritual body which was seen to rise from the deathbed1 which has been so often photographed1 which pervades all religion in every age1 and which has been able1 under proper circumstances1 to materialise back into a temporary solidity so that it could walk and talk like a mortal1 whether in ,jerusalem two thousand years ago1 or in the laboratory of ,mr4 ,crookes1 in ,mornington ,road1 ,london4 ,let us for a moment examine the facts in this ,crookes' episode4 ,a small book exists which describes them1 though it is not as accessible as it should be4 ,in these wonderful experiments1 which extended over several years1 ,miss ,florrie ,cook1 who was a young lady of from #af to #ah years of age1 was repeatedly confined in ,prof4 ,crookes' study1 the door being locked on the inside4 ,here she lay unconscious upon a couch4 ,the spectators assembled in the laboratory1 which was separated by a curtained opening from the study4 ,after a short interval1 through this opening there emerged a lady who was in all ways different from ,miss ,cook4 ,she gave her earth name as ,katie ,king1 and she proclaimed herself to be a materialised spirit1 whose mission it was to carry the knowledge of immortality to mortals4 ,she was of great beauty of face1 figure1 and manner4 ,she was four and a half inches taller than ,miss ,cook1 fair1 whereas the latter was dark1 and as different from her as one woman could be from another4 ,her pulse rate was markedly slower4 ,she became for the time entirely one of the company1 walking about1 addressing each person present1 and taking delight in the children4 ,she made no objection to photography or any other test4 ,forty-eight photographs of different degrees of excellence were made of her4 ,she was seen at the same time as the medium on several occasions4 ,finally she departed1 saying that her mission was over and that she had other work to do4 ,when she vanished materialism should have vanished also1 if mankind had taken adequate notice of the facts4 ,now1 what can the fair-minded inquirer say to such a story as that--one of many1 but for the moment we are concentrating upon it8 ,was ,mr4 ,crookes a blasphemous liar8 ,but there were very many witnesses1 as many sometimes as eight at a single sitting4 ,and there are the photographs which include ,miss ,cook and show that the two women were quite different4 ,was he honestly mistaken8 ,but that is inconceivable4 ,read the original narrative and see if you can find any solution save that it is true4 ,if a man can read that sober1 cautious statement and not be convinced1 then assuredly his brain1 is out of gear4 ,finally1 ask yourself whether any religious manifestation in the world has had anything like the absolute proof which lies in this one4 ,cannot the orthodox see that instead of combating such a story1 or talking nonsense about devils1 they should hail that which is indeed the final answer to that materialism which is their really dangerous enemy4 ,even as ,i write1 my eye falls upon a letter on my desk from an officer who had lost all faith in immortality and become an absolute materialist4 ,i came to dread my return home1 for ,i cannot stand hypocrisy1 and ,i knew well my attitude would cause some members of my family deep grief4 ,your book has now brought me untold comfort1 and ,i can face the future cheerfully4 ,are these fruits from the ,devil's tree1 you timid orthodox critic8 ,having then got in touch with our dead1 we proceed1 naturally1 to ask them how it is with them1 and under what conditions they exist4 ,it is a very vital question1 since what has befallen them yesterday will surely befall us to-morrow4 ,but the answer is tidings of great joy4 ,of the new vital message to humanity nothing is more important than that4 ,it rolls away all those horrible man-bred fears and fancies1 founded upon morbid imaginations and the wild phrases of the oriental4 ,we come upon what is sane1 what is moderate1 what is reasonable1 what is consistent with gradual evolution and with the benevolence of ,god4 ,were there ever any conscious blasphemers upon earth who have insulted the ,deity so deeply as those extremists1 be they ,calvinist1 ,roman ,catholic1 ,anglican1 or ,jew1 who pictured with their distorted minds an implacable torturer as the ,ruler of the ,universe6 ,the truth of what is told us as to the life beyond can in its very nature never be absolutely established4 ,it is far nearer to complete proof1 however1 than any religious revelation which has ever preceded it4 ,we have the fact that these accounts are mixed up with others concerning our present life which are often absolutely true4 ,if a spirit can tell the truth about our sphere1 it is difficult to suppose that he is entirely false about his own4 ,then1 again1 there is a very great similarity about such accounts1 though their origin may be from people very far apart4 ,thus though non-veridical1 to use the modern jargon1 they do conform to all our canons of evidence4 ,a series of books which have attracted far less attention than they deserve have drawn the coming life in very close detail4 ,these books are not found on railway bookstalls or in popular libraries1 but the successive editions through which they pass show that there is a deeper public which gets what it wants in spite of artificial obstacles4 ,looking over the list of my reading ,i find1 besides nearly a dozen very interesting and detailed manuscript accounts1 such published narratives as ,claude's ,book1 purporting to come from a young ,british aviator2 ,thy ,son ,liveth1 from an ,american soldier1 ,private ,dowding2 ,raymond1 from a ,british soldier2 ,do ,thoughts ,perish8 which contains accounts from several ,british soldiers and others2 ,i ,heard a ,voice1 where a well-known ,k4,c41 through the mediumship of his two young daughters1 has a very full revelation of the life beyond2 ,after ,death1 with the alleged experiences of the famous ,miss ,julia ,ames2 ,the ,seven ,purposes1 from an ,american pressman1 and many others4 ,they differ much in literary skill and are not all equally impressive1 but the point which must strike any impartial mind is the general agreement of these various accounts as to the conditions of spirit life4 ,an examination would show that some of them must have been in the press at the same time1 so that they could not have each inspired the other4 ,claude's ,book and ,thy ,son ,liveth appeared at nearly the same time on different sides of the ,atlantic1 but they agree very closely4 ,raymond and ,do ,thoughts ,perish8 must also have been in the press together1 but the scheme of things is exactly the same4 ,surely the agreement of witnesses must here1 as in all cases1 be accounted as a test of truth4 ,they differ mainly1 as it seems to me1 when they deal with their own future including speculations as to reincarnation1 etc41 which may well be as foggy to them as it is to us1 or systems of philosophy where again individual opinion is apparent4 ,of all these accounts the one which is most deserving of study is ,raymond4 ,this is so because it has been compiled from several famous mediums working independently of each other1 and has been checked and chronicled by a man who is not only one of the foremost scientists of the world1 and probably the leading intellectual force in ,europe1 but one who has also had a unique experience of the precautions necessary for the observation of psychic phenomena4 ,the bright and sweet nature of the young soldier upon the other side1 and his eagerness to tell of his experience is also a factor which will appeal to those who are already satisfied as to the truth of the communications4 ,for all these reasons it is a most important document--indeed it would be no exaggeration to say that it is one of the most important in recent literature4 ,it is1 as ,i believe1 an authentic account of the life in the beyond1 and it is often more interesting from its sidelights and reservations than for its actual assertions1 though the latter bear the stamp of absolute frankness and sincerity4 ,the compilation is in some ways faulty4 ,sir ,oliver has not always the art of writing so as to be understanded of the people1 and his deeper and more weighty thoughts get in the way of the clear utterances of his son4 ,then again1 in his anxiety to be absolutely accurate1 ,sir ,oliver has reproduced the fact that sometimes ,raymond is speaking direct1 and sometimes the control is reporting what ,raymond is saying1 so that the same paragraph may turn several times from the first person to the third in a manner which must be utterly unintelligible to those who are not versed in the subject4 ,sir ,oliver will1 ,i am sure1 not be offended if ,i say that1 having satisfied his conscience by the present edition1 he should now leave it for reference1 and put forth a new one which should contain nothing but the words of ,raymond and his spirit friends4 ,such a book1 published at a low price1 would1 ,i think1 have an amazing effect1 and get all this new teaching to the spot that ,god has marked for it--the minds and hearts of the people4 ,so much has been said here about mediumship that perhaps it would be well to consider this curious condition a little more closely4 ,the question of mediumship1 what it is and how it acts1 is one of the most mysterious in the whole range of science4 ,it is a common objection to say if our dead are there why should we only hear of them through people by no means remarkable for moral or mental gifts1 who are often paid for their ministration4 ,it is a plausible argument1 and yet when we receive a telegram from a brother in ,australia we do not say3 ,it is strange that ,tom should not communicate with me direct1 but that the presence of that half-educated fellow in the telegraph office should be necessary4 ,the medium is in truth a mere passive machine1 clerk and telegraph in one4 ,nothing comes ,,from him4 ,every message is ,,through him4 ,why he or she should have the power more than anyone else is a very interesting problem4 ,this power may best be defined as the capacity for allowing the bodily powers1 physical or mental1 to be used by an outside influence4 ,in its higher forms there is temporary extinction of personality and the substitution of some other controlling spirit4 ,at such times the medium may entirely lose consciousness1 or he may retain it and be aware of some external experience which has been enjoyed by his own entity while his bodily house has been filled by the temporary tenant4 ,or the medium may retain consciousness1 and with eyes and ears attuned to a higher key than the normal man can attain1 he may see and hear what is beyond our senses4 ,or in writing mediumship1 a motor centre of the brain regulating the nerves and muscles of the arm may be controlled while all else seems to be normal4 ,or it may take the more material form of the exudation of a strange white evanescent dough-like substance called the ectoplasm1 which has been frequently photographed by scientific enquirers in different stages of its evolution1 and which seems to possess an inherent quality of shaping itself into parts or the whole of a body1 beginning in a putty-like mould and ending in a resemblance to perfect human members4 ,or the ectoplasm1 which seems to be an emanation of the medium to the extent that whatever it may weigh is so much subtracted from his substance1 may be used as projections or rods which can convey objects or lift weights4 ,a friend1 in whose judgment and veracity ,i have absolute confidence1 was present at one of ,dr4 ,crawford's experiments with ,kathleen ,goligher1 who is1 it may be remarked1 an unpaid medium4 ,my friend touched the column of force1 and found it could be felt by the hand though invisible to the eye4 ,it is clear that we are in touch with some entirely new form both of matter and of energy4 ,we know little of the properties of this extraordinary substance save that in its materialising form it seems extremely sensitive to the action of light4 ,a figure built up in it and detached from the medium dissolves in light quicker than a snow image under a tropical sun1 so that two successive flash-light photographs would show the one a perfect figure1 and the next an amorphous mass4 ,when still attached to the medium the ectoplasm flies back with great force on exposure to light1 and1 in spite of the laughter of the scoffers1 there is none the less good evidence that several mediums have been badly injured by the recoil after a light has suddenly been struck by some amateur detective4 ,professor ,geley has1 in his recent experiments1 described the ectoplasm as appearing outside the black dress of his medium as if a hoar frost had descended upon her1 then coalescing into a continuous sheet of white substance1 and oozing down until it formed a sort of apron in front of her4#e ,this process he has illustrated by a very complete series of photographs4 ,these are a few of the properties of mediumship4 ,there are also the beautiful phenomena of the production of lights1 and the rarer1 but for evidential purposes even more valuable1 manifestations of spirit photography4 ,the fact that the photograph does not correspond in many cases with any which existed in life1 must surely silence the scoffer1 though there is a class of bigoted sceptic who would still be sneering if an ,archangel alighted in ,trafalgar ,square4 ,mr4 ,hope and ,mrs4 ,buxton1 of ,crewe1 have brought this phase of mediumship to great perfection1 though others have powers in that direction4 ,indeed1 in some cases it is difficult to say who the medium may have been1 for in one collective family group which was taken in the ordinary way1 and was sent me by a master in a well known public school1 the young son who died has appeared in the plate seated between his two little brothers4 ,as to the personality of mediums1 they have seemed to me to be very average specimens of the community1 neither markedly better nor markedly worse4 ,i know many1 and ,i have never met anything in the least like ,sludge1 a poem which ,browning might be excused for writing in some crisis of domestic disagreement1 but which it was inexcusable to republish since it is admitted to be a concoction1 and the exposure described to have been imaginary4 ,the critic often uses the term medium as if it necessarily meant a professional1 whereas every investigator has found some of his best results among amateurs4 ,in the two finest seances ,i ever attended1 the psychic1 in each case a man of moderate means1 was resolutely determined never directly or indirectly to profit by his gift1 though it entailed very exhausting physical conditions4 ,i have not heard of a clergyman of any denomination who has attained such a pitch of altruism--nor is it reasonable to expect it4 ,as to professional mediums1 ,mr4 ,vout ,peters1 one of the most famous1 is a diligent collector of old books and an authority upon the ,elizabethan drama2 while ,mr4 ,dickinson1 another very remarkable discerner of spirits1 who named twenty-four correctly during two meetings held on the same day1 is employed in loading canal barges4 ,this man is one gifted clairvoyants in ,england1 though ,tom ,tyrrell the weaver1 ,aaron ,wilkinson1 and others are very marvellous4 ,tyrrell1 who is a man of the ,anthony of ,padua type1 a walking saint1 beloved of animals and children1 is a figure who might have stepped out of some legend of the church4 ,thomas1 the powerful physical medium1 is a working coal miner4 ,most mediums take their responsibilities very seriously and view their work in a religious light4 ,there is no denying that they are exposed to very particular temptations1 for the gift is1 as ,i have explained elsewhere1 an intermittent one1 and to admit its temporary absence1 and so discourage one's clients1 needs greater moral principle than all men possess4 ,another temptation to which several great mediums have succumbed is that of drink4 ,this comes about in a very natural way1 for overworking the power leaves them in a state of physical prostration1 and the stimulus of alcohol affords a welcome relief1 and may tend at last to become a custom and finally a curse4 ,alcoholism always weakens the moral sense1 so that these degenerate mediums yield themselves more readily to fraud1 with the result that several who had deservedly won honoured names and met all hostile criticism have1 in their later years1 been detected in the most contemptible tricks4 ,it is a thousand pities that it should be so1 but if the ,court of ,arches were to give up its secrets1 it would be found that tippling and moral degeneration were by no means confined to psychics4 ,at the same time1 a psychic is so peculiarly sensitive that ,i think he or she would always be well advised to be a life long abstainer--as many actually are4 ,as to the method by which they attain their results they have1 when in the trance state1 no recollection4 ,in the case of normal clairvoyants and clairaudients1 the information comes in different ways4 ,sometimes it is no more than a strong mental impression which gives a name or an address4 ,sometimes they say that they see it written up before them4 ,sometimes the spirit figures seem to call it to them4 ,they yell it at me1 said one4 ,we need more first-hand accounts of these matters before we can formulate laws4 ,it has been stated in a previous book by the author1 but it will bear repetition1 that the use of the seance should1 in his opinion1 be carefully regulated as well as reverently conducted4 ,having once satisfied himself of the absolute existence of the unseen world1 and of its proximity to our own1 the inquirer has got the great gift which psychical investigation can give him1 and thenceforth he can regulate his life upon the lines which the teaching from beyond has shown to be the best4 ,there is much force in the criticism that too constant intercourse with the affairs of another world may distract our attention and weaken our powers in dealing with our obvious duties in this one4 ,a seance1 with the object of satisfying curiosity or of rousing interest1 cannot be an elevating influence1 and the mere sensation-monger can make this holy and wonderful thing as base as the over-indulgence in a stimulant4 ,on the other hand1 where the seance is used for the purpose of satisfying ourselves as to the condition of those whom we have lost1 or of giving comfort to others who crave for a word from beyond1 then it is1 indeed1 a blessed gift from ,god to be used with moderation and with thankfulness4 ,our loved ones have their own pleasant tasks in their new surroundings1 and though they assure us that they love to clasp the hands which we stretch out to them1 we should still have some hesitation in intruding to an unreasonable extent upon the routine of their lives4 ,a word should be said as to that fear of fiends and evil spirits which appears to have so much weight with some of the critics of this subject4 ,when one looks more closely at this emotion it seems somewhat selfish and cowardly4 ,these creatures are in truth our own backward brothers1 bound for the same ultimate destination as ourselves1 but retarded by causes for which our earth conditions may have been partly responsible4 ,our pity and sympathy should go out to them1 and if they do indeed manifest at a seance1 the proper ,christian attitude is1 as it seems to me1 that we should reason with them and pray for them in order to help them upon their difficult way4 ,those who have treated them in this way have found a very marked difference in the subsequent communications4 ,in ,admiral ,usborne ,moore's ,glimpses of the ,next ,state there will be found some records of an ,american circle which devoted itself entirely to missionary work of this sort4 ,there is some reason to believe that there are forms of imperfect development which can be helped more by earthly than by purely spiritual influences1 for the reason1 perhaps1 that they are closer to the material4 ,in a recent case ,i was called in to endeavour to check a very noisy entity which frequented an old house in which there were strong reasons to believe that crime had been committed1 and also that the criminal was earth-bound4 ,names were given by the unhappy spirit which proved to be correct1 and a cupboard was described1 which was duly found1 though it had never before been suspected4 ,on getting into touch with the spirit ,i endeavoured to reason with it and to explain how selfish it was to cause misery to others in order to satisfy any feelings of revenge which it might have carried over from earth life4 ,we then prayed for its welfare1 exhorted it to rise higher1 and received a very solemn assurance1 tilted out at the table1 that it would mend its ways4 ,i have very gratifying reports that it has done so1 and that all is now quiet in the old house4 ,let us now consider the life in the ,beyond as it is shown to us by the new revelation4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,coming ,,world ,we come first to the messages which tell us of the life beyond the grave1 sent by those who are actually living it4 ,i have already insisted upon the fact that they have three weighty claims to our belief4 ,the one is1 that they are accompanied by signs1 in the ,biblical sense1 in the shape of miracles or phenomena4 ,the second is1 that in many cases they are accompanied by assertions about this life of ours which prove to be correct1 and which are beyond the possible knowledge of the medium after every deduction has been made for telepathy or for unconscious memory4 ,the third is1 that they have a remarkable1 though not a complete1 similarity from whatever source they come4 ,it may be noted that the differences of opinion become most marked when they deal with their own future1 which may well be a matter of speculation to them as to us4 ,thus1 upon the question of reincarnation there is a distinct cleavage1 and though ,i am myself of opinion that the general evidence is against this oriental doctrine1 it is none the less an undeniable fact that it has been maintained by some messages which appear in other ways to be authentic1 and1 therefore1 it is necessary to keep one's mind open on the subject4 ,before entering upon the substance of the messages ,i should wish to emphasize the second of these two points1 so as to reinforce the reader's confidence in the authenticity of these assertions4 ,to this end ,i will give a detailed example1 with names almost exact4 ,the medium was ,mr4 ,phoenix1 of ,glasgow1 with whom ,i have myself had some remarkable experiences4 ,the sitter was ,mr4 ,ernest ,oaten1 the ,president of the ,northern ,spiritual ,union1 a man of the utmost veracity and precision of statement4 ,the dialogue1 which came by the direct voice1 a trumpet acting as megaphone1 ran like this3-- ,the ,voice3 ,good evening1 ,mr4 ,oaten4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,good evening4 ,who are you8 ,the ,voice3 ,my name is ,mill4 ,you know my father4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,no1 ,i don't remember anyone of the name4 ,the ,voice3 ,yes1 you were speaking to him the other day4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,to be sure4 ,i remember now4 ,i only met him casually4 ,the ,voice3 ,i want you to give him a message from me4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,what is it8 ,the ,voice3 ,tell him that he was not mistaken at midnight on ,tuesday last4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,very good4 ,i will say so4 ,have you passed long8 ,the ,voice3 ,some time4 ,but our time is different from yours4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,what were you8 ,the ,voice3 ,a ,surgeon4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,how did you pass8 ,the ,voice3 ,blown up in a battleship during the war4 ,mr4 ,o43 ,anything more8 ,the answer was the ,gipsy song from ,il ,trovatore1 very accurately whistled1 and then a quick-step4 ,after the latter1 the voice said3 ,that is a test for father4 ,this reproduction of conversation is not quite verbatim1 but gives the condensed essence4 ,mr4 ,oaten at once visited ,mr4 ,mill1 who was not a ,spiritualist1 and found that every detail was correct4 ,young ,mill had lost his life as narrated4 ,mr4 ,mill1 senior1 explained that while sitting in his study at midnight on the date named he had heard the ,gipsy song from ,il ,trovatore1 which had been a favourite of his boy's1 and being unable to trace the origin of the music1 had finally thought that it was a freak of his imagination4 ,the test connected with the quick-step had reference to a tune which the young man used to play upon the piccolo1 but which was so rapid that he never could get it right1 for which he was chaffed by the family4 ,i tell this story at length to make the reader realise that when young ,mill1 and others like him1 give such proofs of accuracy1 which we can test for ourselves1 we are bound to take their assertions very seriously when they deal with the life they are actually leading1 though in their very nature we can only check their accounts by comparison with others4 ,now let me epitomise what these assertions are4 ,they say that they are exceedingly happy1 and that they do not wish to return4 ,they are among the friends whom they had loved and lost1 who meet them when they die and continue their careers together4 ,they are very busy on all forms of congenial work4 ,the world in which they find themselves is very much like that which they have quitted1 but everything keyed to a higher octave4 ,as in a higher octave the rhythm is the same1 and the relation of notes to each other the same1 but the total effect different1 so it is here4 ,every earthly thing has its equivalent4 ,scoffers have guffawed over alcohol and tobacco1 but if all things are reproduced it would be a flaw if these were not reproduced also4 ,that they should be abused1 as they are here1 would1 indeed1 be evil tidings1 but nothing of the sort has been said1 and in the much discussed passage in ,raymond1 their production was alluded to as though it were an unusual1 and in a way a humorous1 instance of the resources of the beyond4 ,i wonder how many of the preachers1 who have taken advantage of this passage in order to attack the whole new revelation1 have remembered that the only other message which ever associated alcohol with the life beyond is that of ,christ ,himself1 when ,he said3 ,i will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when ,i drink it new with you in my ,father's kingdom4 ,this matter is a detail1 however1 and it is always dangerous to discuss details in a subject which is so enormous1 so dimly seen4 ,as the wisest woman ,i have known remarked to me3 ,things may well be surprising over there1 for if we had been told the facts of this life before we entered it1 we should never have believed it4 ,in its larger issues this happy life to come consists in the development of those gifts which we possess4 ,there is action for the man of action1 intellectual work for the thinker1 artistic1 literary1 dramatic and religious for those whose ,god-given powers lie that way4 ,what we have both in brain and character we carry over with us4 ,no man is too old to learn1 for what he learns he keeps4 ,there is no physical side to love and no child-birth1 though there is close union between those married people who really love each other1 and1 generally1 there is deep sympathetic friendship and comradeship between the sexes4 ,every man or woman finds a soul mate sooner or later4 ,the child grows up to the normal1 so that the mother who lost a babe of two years old1 and dies herself twenty years later finds a grown-up daughter of twenty-two awaiting her coming4 ,age1 which is produced chiefly by the mechanical presence of lime in our arteries1 disappears1 and the individual reverts to the full normal growth and appearance of completed man--or womanhood4 ,let no woman mourn her lost beauty1 and no man his lost strength or weakening brain4 ,it all awaits them once more upon the other side4 ,nor is any deformity or bodily weakness there1 for all is normal and at its best4 ,before leaving this section of the subject1 ,i should say a few more words upon the evidence as it affects the etheric body4 ,this body is a perfect thing4 ,this is a matter of consequence in these days when so many of our heroes have been mutilated in the wars4 ,one cannot mutilate the etheric body1 and it remains always intact4 ,the first words uttered by a returning spirit in the recent experience of ,dr4 ,abraham ,wallace were ,i have got my left arm again4 ,the same applies to all birth marks1 deformities1 blindness1 and other imperfections4 ,none of them are permanent1 and all will vanish in that happier life that awaits us4 ,such is the teaching from the beyond--that a perfect body waits for each4 ,but1 says the critic1 what then of the clairvoyant descriptions1 or the visions where the aged father is seen1 clad in the old-fashioned garments of another age1 or the grandmother with crinoline and chignon8 ,are these the habiliments of heaven8 ,such visions are not spirits1 but they are pictures which are built up before us or shot by spirits into our brains or those of the seer for the purposes of recognition4 ,hence the grey hair and hence the ancient garb4 ,when a real spirit is indeed seen it comes in another form to this1 where the flowing robe1 such as has always been traditionally ascribed to the angels1 is a vital thing which1 by its very colour and texture1 proclaims the spiritual condition of the wearer1 and is probably a condensation of that aura which surrounds us upon earth4 ,it is a world of sympathy4 ,only those who have this tie foregather4 ,the sullen husband1 the flighty wife1 is no longer there to plague the innocent spouse4 ,all is sweet and peaceful4 ,it is the long rest cure after the nerve strain of life1 and before new experiences in the future4 ,the circumstances are homely and familiar4 ,happy circles live in pleasant homesteads with every amenity of beauty and of music4 ,beautiful gardens1 lovely flowers1 green woods1 pleasant lakes1 domestic pets--all of these things are fully described in the messages of the pioneer travellers who have at last got news back to those who loiter in the old dingy home4 ,there are no poor and no rich4 ,the craftsman may still pursue his craft1 but he does it for the joy of his work4 ,each serves the community as best he can1 while from above come higher ministers of grace1 the ,angels of holy writ1 to direct and help4 ,above all1 shedding down ,his atmosphere upon all1 broods that great ,christ spirit1 the very soul of reason1 of justice1 and of sympathetic understanding1 who has the earth sphere1 with all its circles1 under ,his very special care4 ,it is a place of joy and laughter4 ,there are games and sports of all sorts1 though none which cause pain to lower life4 ,food and drink in the grosser sense do not exist1 but there seem to be pleasures of taste1 and this distinction causes some confusion in the messages upon the point4 ,but above all1 brain1 energy1 character1 driving power1 if exerted for good1 makes a man a leader there as here1 while unselfishness1 patience and spirituality there1 as here1 qualify the soul for the higher places1 which have often been won by those very tribulations down here which seem so purposeless and so cruel1 and are in truth our chances of spiritual quickening and promotion1 without which life would have been barren and without profit4 ,the revelation abolishes the idea of a grotesque hell and of a fantastic heaven1 while it substitutes the conception of a gradual rise in the scale of existence without any monstrous change which would turn us in an instant from man to angel or devil4 ,the system1 though different from previous ideas1 does not1 as it seems to me1 run counter in any radical fashion to the old beliefs4 ,in ancient maps it was usual for the cartographer to mark blank spaces for the unexplored regions1 with some such legend as here are anthropophagi1 or here are mandrakes1 scrawled across them4 ,so in our theology there have been ill-defined areas which have admittedly been left unfilled1 for what sane man has ever believed in such a heaven as is depicted in our hymn books1 a land of musical idleness and barren monotonous adoration6 ,thus in furnishing a clearer conception this new system has nothing to supplant4 ,it paints upon a blank sheet4 ,one may well ask1 however1 granting that there is evidence for such a life and such a world as has been described1 what about those who have not merited such a destination8 ,what do the messages from beyond say about these8 ,and here one cannot be too definite1 for there is no use exchanging one dogma for another4 ,one can but give the general purport of such information as has been vouchsafed to us4 ,it is natural that those with whom we come in contact are those whom we may truly call the blessed1 for if the thing be approached in a reverent and religious spirit it is those whom we should naturally attract4 ,that there are many less fortunate than themselves is evident from their own constant allusions to that regenerating and elevating missionary work which is among their own functions4 ,they descend apparently and help others to gain that degree of spirituality which fits them for this upper sphere1 as a higher student might descend to a lower class in order to bring forward a backward pupil4 ,such a conception gives point to ,christ's remark that there was more joy in heaven over saving one sinner than over ninety-nine just1 for if ,he had spoken of an earthly sinner he would surely have had to become just in this life and so ceased to be a sinner before he had reached ,paradise4 ,it would apply very exactly1 however1 to a sinner rescued from a lower sphere and brought to a higher one4 ,when we view sin in the light of modern science1 with the tenderness of the modern conscience and with a sense of justice and proportion1 it ceases to be that monstrous cloud which darkened the whole vision of the mediaeval theologian4 ,man has been more harsh with himself than an all-merciful ,god will ever be4 ,it is true that with all deductions there remains a great residuum which means want of individual effort1 conscious weakness of will1 and culpable failure of character when the sinner1 like ,horace1 sees and applauds the higher while he follows the lower4 ,but when1 on the other hand1 one has made allowances--and can our human allowance be as generous as ,god's8--for the sins which are the inevitable product of early environment1 for the sins which are due to hereditary and inborn taint1 and to the sins which are due to clear physical causes1 then the total of active sin is greatly reduced4 ,could one1 for example1 imagine that ,providence1 all-wise and all-merciful1 as every creed proclaims1 could punish the unfortunate wretch who hatches criminal thoughts behind the slanting brows of a criminal head8 ,a doctor has but to glance at the cranium to predicate the crime4 ,in its worst forms all crime1 from ,nero to ,jack the ,ripper1 is the product of absolute lunacy1 and those gross national sins to which allusion has been made seem to point to collective national insanity4 ,surely1 then1 there is hope that no very terrible inferno is needed to further punish those who have been so afflicted upon earth4 ,some of our dead have remarked that nothing has surprised them so much as to find who have been chosen for honour1 and certainly1 without in any way condoning sin1 one could well imagine that the man whose organic makeup predisposed him with irresistible force in that direction should1 in justice1 receive condolence and sympathy4 ,possibly such a sinner1 if he had not sinned so deeply as he might have done1 stands higher than the man who was born good1 and remained so1 but was no better at the end of his life4 ,the one has made some progress and the other has not4 ,but the commonest failing1 the one which fills the spiritual hospitals of the other world1 and is a temporary bar to the normal happiness of the after-life1 is the sin of ,tomlinson in ,kipling's poem1 the commonest of all sins in respectable ,british circles1 the sin of conventionality1 of want of conscious effort and development1 of a sluggish spirituality1 fatted over by a complacent mind and by the comforts of life4 ,it is the man who is satisfied1 the man who refers his salvation to some church or higher power without steady travail of his own soul1 who is in deadly danger4 ,all churches are good1 ,christian or non-,christian1 so long as they promote the actual spirit life of the individual1 but all are noxious the instant that they allow him to think that by any form of ceremony1 or by any fashion of creed1 he obtains the least advantage over his neighbour1 or can in any way dispense with that personal effort which is the only road to the higher places4 ,this is1 of course1 as applicable to believers in ,spiritualism as to any other belief4 ,if it does not show in practice then it is vain4 ,one can get through this life very comfortably following without question in some procession with a venerable leader4 ,but one does not die in a procession4 ,one dies alone4 ,and it is then that one has alone to accept the level gained by the work of life4 ,and what is the punishment of the undeveloped soul8 ,it is that it should be placed where it ,,will develop1 and sorrow would seem always to be the forcing ground of souls4 ,that surely is our own experience in life where the insufferably complacent and unsympathetic person softens and mellows into beauty of character and charity of thought1 when tried long enough and high enough in the fires of life4 ,the ,bible has talked about the ,outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth4 ,the influence of the ,bible has sometimes been an evil one through our own habit of reading a book of ,oriental poetry and treating it as literally as if it were ,occidental prose4 ,when an ,eastern describes a herd of a thousand camels he talks of camels which are more numerous than the hairs of your head or the stars in the sky4 ,in this spirit of allowance for ,eastern expression1 one must approach those lurid and terrible descriptions which have darkened the lives of so many imaginative children and sent so many earnest adults into asylums4 ,from all that we learn there are indeed places of outer darkness1 but dim as these uncomfortable waiting-rooms may be1 they all admit to heaven in the end4 ,that is the final destination of the human race1 and it would indeed be a reproach to the ,almighty if it were not so4 ,we cannot dogmatise upon this subject of the penal spheres1 and yet we have very clear teaching that they are there and that the no-man's-land which separates us from the normal heaven1 that third heaven to which ,st4 ,paul seems to have been wafted in one short strange experience of his lifetime1 is a place which corresponds with the ,astral plane of the mystics and with the outer darkness of the ,bible4 ,here linger those earth-bound spirits whose worldly interests have clogged them and weighed them down1 until every spiritual impulse had vanished2 the man whose life has been centred on money1 on worldly ambition1 or on sensual indulgence4 ,the one-idea'd man will surely be there1 if his one idea was not a spiritual one4 ,nor is it necessary that he should be an evil man1 if dear old brother ,john of ,glastonbury1 who loved the great ,abbey so that he could never detach himself from it1 is to be classed among earth-bound spirits4 ,in the most material and pronounced classes of these are the ghosts who impinge very closely upon matter and have been seen so often by those who have no strong psychic sense4 ,it is probable1 from what we know of the material laws which govern such matters1 that a ghost could never manifest itself if it were alone1 that the substance for the manifestation is drawn from the spectator1 and that the coldness1 raising of hair1 and other symptoms of which he complains are caused largely by the sudden drain upon his own vitality4 ,this1 however1 is to wander into speculation1 and far from that correlation of psychic knowledge with religion1 which has been the aim of these chapters4 ,by one of those strange coincidences1 which seem to me sometimes to be more than coincidences1 ,i had reached this point in my explanation of the difficult question of the intermediate state1 and was myself desiring further enlightenment1 when an old book reached me through the post1 sent by someone whom ,i have never met1 and in it is the following passage1 written by an automatic writer1 and in existence since #ahhj4 ,it makes the matter plain1 endorsing what has been said and adding new points4 ,some cannot advance further than the borderland--such as never thought of spirit life and have lived entirely for the earth1 its cares and pleasures--even clever men and women1 who have lived simply intellectual lives without spirituality4 ,there are many who have misused their opportunities1 and are now longing for the time misspent and wishing to recall the earth-life4 ,they will learn that on this side the time can be redeemed1 though at much cost4 ,the borderland has many among the restless money-getters of earth1 who still haunt the places where they had their hopes and joys4 ,these are often the longest to remain 4 4 4 many are not unhappy4 ,they feel the relief to be sufficient to be without their earth bodies4 ,all pass through the borderland1 but some hardly perceive it4 ,it is so immediate1 and there is no resting there for them4 ,they pass on at once to the refreshment place of which we tell you4 ,the anonymous author1 after recording this spirit message1 mentions the interesting fact that there is a ,christian inscription in the ,catacombs which runs3 ,,niceforus ,,anima ,,dulcis ,,in ,,refrigerio1 ,nicephorus1 a sweet soul in the refreshment place4 ,one more scrap of evidence that the early ,christian scheme of things was very like that of the modern psychic4 ,so much for the borderland1 the intermediate condition4 ,the present ,christian dogma has no name for it1 unless it be that nebulous limbo which is occasionally mentioned1 and is usually defined as the place where the souls of the just who died before ,christ were detained4 ,the idea of crossing a space before reaching a permanent state on the other side is common to many religions1 and took the allegorical form of a river with a ferry-boat among the ,romans and ,greeks4 ,continually1 one comes on points which make one realise that far back in the world's history there has been a true revelation1 which has been blurred and twisted in time4 ,thus in ,dr4 ,muir's summary of the ,,rig4 ,,veda1 he says1 epitomising the beliefs of the first ,aryan conquerors of ,india3 ,before1 however1 the unborn part 7that is1 the etheric body7 can complete its course to the third heaven it has to traverse a vast gulf of darkness1 leaving behind on earth all that is evil1 and proceeding by the paths the fathers trod1 the spirit soars to the realms of eternal light1 recovers there his body in a glorified form1 and obtains from ,god a delectable abode and enters upon a more perfect life1 which is crowned with the fulfilment of all desires1 is passed in the presence of the ,gods and employed in the fulfilment of their pleasure4 ,if we substitute angels for ,gods we must admit that the new revelation from modern spirit sources has much in common with the belief of our ,aryan fathers4 ,such1 in very condensed form1 is the world which is revealed to us by these wonderful messages from the beyond4 ,is it an unreasonable vision8 ,is it in any way opposed to just principles8 ,is it not rather so reasonable that having got the clue we could now see that1 given any life at all1 this is exactly the line upon which we should expect to move8 ,nature and evolution are averse from sudden disconnected developments4 ,if a human being has technical1 literary1 musical1 or other tendencies1 they are an essential part of his character1 and to survive without them would be to lose his identity and to become an entirely different man4 ,they must therefore survive death if personality is to be maintained4 ,but it is no use their surviving unless they can find means of expression1 and means of expression seem to require certain material agents1 and also a discriminating audience4 ,so also the sense of modesty among civilised races has become part of our very selves1 and implies some covering of our forms if personality is to continue4 ,our desires and sympathies would prompt us to live with those we love1 which implies something in the nature of a house1 while the human need for mental rest and privacy would predicate the existence of separate rooms4 ,thus1 merely starting from the basis of the continuity of personality one might1 even without the revelation from the beyond1 have built up some such system by the use of pure reason and deduction4 ,so far as the existence of this land of happiness goes1 it would seem to have been more fully proved than any other religious conception within our knowledge4 ,it may very reasonably be asked1 how far this precise description of life beyond the grave is my own conception1 and how far it has been accepted by the greater minds who have studied this subject8 ,i would answer1 that it is my own conclusion as gathered from a very large amount of existing testimony1 and that in its main lines it has for many years been accepted by those great numbers of silent active workers all over the world1 who look upon this matter from a strictly religious point of view4 ,i think that the evidence amply justifies us in this belief4 ,on the other hand1 those who have approached this subject with cold and cautious scientific brains1 endowed1 in many cases1 with the strongest prejudices against dogmatic creeds and with very natural fears about the possible re-growth of theological quarrels1 have in most cases stopped short of a complete acceptance1 declaring that there can be no positive proof upon such matters1 and that we may deceive ourselves either by a reflection of our own thoughts or by receiving the impressions of the medium4 ,professor ,zollner1 for example1 says3 ,science can make no use of the substance of intellectual revelations1 but must be guided by observed facts and by the conclusions logically and mathematically uniting them--a passage which is quoted with approval by ,professor ,reichel1 and would seem to be endorsed by the silence concerning the religious side of the question which is observed by most of our great scientific supporters4 ,it is a point of view which can well be understood1 and yet1 closely examined1 it would appear to be a species of enlarged materialism4 ,to admit1 as these observers do1 that spirits do return1 that they give every proof of being the actual friends whom we have lost1 and yet to turn a deaf ear to the messages which they send would seem to be pushing caution to the verge of unreason4 ,to get so far1 and yet not to go further1 is impossible as a permanent position4 ,if1 for example1 in ,raymond's case we find so many allusions to the small details of his home upon earth1 which prove to be surprisingly correct1 is it reasonable to put a blue pencil through all he says of the home which he actually inhabits8 ,long before ,i had convinced my mind of the truth of things which appeared so grotesque and incredible1 ,i had a long account sent by table tilting about the conditions of life beyond4 ,the details seemed to me impossible and ,i set them aside1 and yet they harmonise1 as ,i now discover1 with other revelations4 ,so1 too1 with the automatic script of ,mr4 ,hubert ,wales1 which has been described in my previous book4 ,he had tossed it aside into a drawer as being unworthy of serious consideration1 and yet it also proved to be in harmony4 ,in neither of these cases was telepathy or the prepossession of the medium a possible explanation4 ,on the whole1 ,i am inclined to think that these doubtful or dissentient scientific men1 having their own weighty studies to attend to1 have confined their reading and thought to the more objective side of the question1 and are not aware of the vast amount of concurrent evidence which appears to give us an exact picture of the life beyond4 ,they despise documents which cannot be proved1 and they do not1 in my opinion1 sufficiently realise that a general agreement of testimony1 and the already established character of a witness1 are themselves arguments for truth4 ,some complicate the question by predicating the existence of a fourth dimension in that world1 but the term is an absurdity1 as are all terms which find no corresponding impression in the human brain4 ,we have mysteries enough to solve without gratuitously introducing fresh ones4 ,when solid passes through solid1 it is1 surely1 simpler to assume that it is done by a dematerialisation1 and subsequent reassembly--a process which can1 at least1 be imagined by the human mind--than to invoke an explanation which itself needs to be explained4 ,in the next and final chapter ,i will ask the reader to accompany me in an examination of the ,new ,testament by the light of this psychic knowledge1 and to judge how far it makes clear and reasonable much which was obscure and confused4 ,,chapter ,v ,,is ,,it ,,the ,,second ,,dawn8 ,there are many incidents in the ,new ,testament which might be taken as starting points in tracing a close analogy between the phenomenal events which are associated with the early days of ,christianity1 and those which have perplexed the world in connection with modern ,spiritualism4 ,most of us are prepared to admit that the lasting claims of ,christianity upon the human race are due to its own intrinsic teachings1 which are quite independent of those wonders which can only have had a use in startling the solid complacence of an unspiritual race1 and so directing their attention violently to this new system of thought4 ,exactly the same may be said of the new revelation4 ,the exhibitions of a force which is beyond human experience and human guidance is but a method of calling attention4 ,to repeat a simile which has been used elsewhere1 it is the humble telephone bell which heralds the all-important message4 ,in the case of ,christ1 the ,sermon on the ,mount was more than many miracles4 ,in the case of this new development1 the messages from beyond are more than any phenomena4 ,a vulgar mind might make ,christ's story seem vulgar1 if it insisted upon loaves of bread and the bodies of fish4 ,so1 also1 a vulgar mind may make psychic religion vulgar by insisting upon moving furniture or tambourines in the air4 ,in each case they are crude signs of power1 and the essence of the matter lies upon higher planes4 ,it is stated in the second chapter of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 that they1 the ,christian leaders1 were all with one accord in one place4 ,with one accord expresses admirably those sympathetic conditions which have always been found1 in psychic circles1 to be conducive of the best results1 and which are so persistently ignored by a certain class of investigators4 ,then there came a mighty rushing wind1 and afterwards there appeared cloven tongues like unto fire and it sat upon each of them4 ,here is a very definite and clear account of a remarkable sequence of phenomena4 ,now1 let us compare with this the results which were obtained by ,professor ,crookes in his investigation in #ahgc1 after he had taken every possible precaution against fraud which his experience1 as an accurate observer and experimenter1 could suggest4 ,he says in his published notes3 ,i have seen luminous points of light darting about1 sitting on the heads of different persons and then again3 ,these movements1 and1 indeed1 ,i may say the same of every class of phenomena1 are generally preceded by a peculiar cold air1 sometimes amounting to a decided wind4 ,i have had sheets of paper blown about by it4 4 4 4 ,now1 is it not singular1 not merely that the phenomena should be of the same order1 but that they should come in exactly the same sequence1 the wind first and the lights afterwards8 ,in our ignorance of etheric physics1 an ignorance which is now slowly clearing1 one can only say that there is some indication here of a general law which links those two episodes together in spite of the nineteen centuries which divide them4 ,a little later1 it is stated that the place was shaken where they were assembled together4 ,many modern observers of psychic phenomena have testified to vibration of the walls of an apartment1 as if a heavy lorry were passing4 ,it is1 evidently1 to such experiences that ,paul alludes when he says3 ,our gospel came unto you not in word only1 but also in power4 ,the preacher of the ,new ,revelation can most truly say the same words4 ,in connection with the signs of the pentecost1 ,i can most truly say that ,i have myself experienced them all1 the cold sudden wind1 the lambent misty flames1 all under the mediumship of ,mr4 ,phoenix1 an amateur psychic of ,glasgow4 ,the fifteen sitters were of one accord upon that occasion1 and1 by a coincidence1 it was in an upper room1 at the very top of the house4 ,in a previous section of this essay1 ,i have remarked that no philosophical explanation of these phenomena1 known as spiritual1 could be conceived which did not show that all1 however different in their working1 came from the same central source4 ,st4 ,paul seems to state this in so many words when he says3 ,but all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit1 dividing to every man severally as he will4 ,could our modern speculation1 forced upon us by the facts1 be more tersely stated8 ,he has just enumerated the various gifts1 and we find them very close to those of which we have experience4 ,there is first the word of wisdom1 the word of knowledge and faith4 ,all these taken in connection with the ,spirit would seem to mean the higher communications from the other side4 ,then comes healing1 which is still practised in certain conditions by a highly virile medium1 who has the power of discharging strength1 losing just as much as the weakling gains1 as instanced by ,christ when ,he said3 ,who has touched me8 ,much virtue 7or power7 has gone out of me4 ,then we come upon the working of miracles1 which we should call the production of phenomena1 and which would cover many different types1 such as apports1 where objects are brought from a distance1 levitation of objects or of the human frame into the air1 the production of lights and other wonders4 ,then comes prophecy1 which is a real and yet a fitful and often delusive form of mediumship--never so delusive as among the early ,christians1 who seem all to have mistaken the approaching fall of ,jerusalem and the destruction of the ,temple1 which they could dimly see1 as being the end of the world4 ,this mistake is repeated so often and so clearly that it is really not honest to ignore or deny it4 ,then we come to the power of discerning the spirits1 which corresponds to our clairvoyance1 and finally that curious and usually useless gift of tongues1 which is also a modern phenomenon4 ,i can remember that some time ago ,i read the book1 ,i ,heard a ,voice1 by an eminent barrister1 in which he describes how his young daughter began to write ,greek fluently with all the complex accents in their correct places4 ,just after ,i read it ,i received a letter from a no less famous physician1 who asked my opinion about one of his children who had written a considerable amount of script in mediaeval ,french4 ,these two recent cases are beyond all doubt1 but ,i have not had convincing evidence of the case where some unintelligible signs drawn by an unlettered man were pronounced by an expert to be in the ,ogham or early ,celtic character4 ,as the ,ogham script is really a combination of straight lines1 the latter case may be taken with considerable reserve4 ,thus the phenomena associated with the rise of ,christianity and those which have appeared during the present spiritual ferment are very analogous4 ,in examining the gifts of the disciples1 as mentioned by ,matthew and ,mark1 the only additional point is the raising of the dead4 ,if any of them besides their great leader did in truth rise to this height of power1 where life was actually extinct1 then he1 undoubtedly1 far transcended anything which is recorded of modern mediumship4 ,it is clear1 however1 that such a power must have been very rare1 since it would otherwise have been used to revive the bodies of their own martyrs1 which does not seem to have been attempted4 ,for ,christ the power is clearly admitted1 and there are little touches in the description of how it was exercised by ,him which are extremely convincing to a psychic student4 ,in the account of how ,he raised ,lazarus from the grave after he had been four days dead--far the most wonderful of all ,christ's miracles--it is recorded that as ,he went down to the graveside ,he was groaning4 ,why was ,he groaning8 ,no ,biblical student seems to have given a satisfactory reason4 ,but anyone who has heard a medium groaning before any great manifestation of power will read into this passage just that touch of practical knowledge1 which will convince him of its truth4 ,the miracle1 ,i may add1 is none the less wonderful or beyond our human powers1 because it was wrought by an extension of natural law1 differing only in degree with that which we can ourselves test and even do4 ,although our modern manifestations have never attained the power mentioned in the ,biblical records1 they present some features which are not related in the ,new ,testament4 ,clairaudience1 that is the hearing of a spirit voice1 is common to both1 but the direct voice1 that is the hearing of a voice which all can discern with their material ears1 is a well-authenticated phenomenon now which is more rarely mentioned of old4 ,so1 too1 ,spirit-photography1 where the camera records what the human eye cannot see1 is necessarily a new testimony4 ,nothing is evidence to those who do not examine evidence1 but ,i can attest most solemnly that ,i personally know of several cases where the image upon the plate after death has not only been unmistakable1 but also has differed entirely from any pre-existing photograph4 ,as to the methods by which the early ,christians communicated with the spirits1 or with the ,saints as they called their dead brethren1 we have1 so far as ,i know1 no record1 though the words of ,john3 ,brothers1 believe not every spirit1 but try the spirits whether they are of ,god1 show very clearly that spirit communion was a familiar idea1 and also that they were plagued1 as we are1 by the intrusion of unwelcome spiritual elements in their intercourse4 ,some have conjectured that the ,angel of the ,church1 who is alluded to in terms which suggest that he was a human being1 was really a medium sanctified to the use of that particular congregation4 ,as we have early indications of bishops1 deacons and other officials1 it is difficult to say what else the angel could have been4 ,this1 however1 must remain a pure speculation4 ,another speculation which is1 perhaps1 rather more fruitful is upon what principle did ,christ select his twelve chief followers4 ,out of all the multitudes he chose twelve men4 ,why these particular ones8 ,it was not for their intelligence or learning1 for ,peter and ,john1 who were among the most prominent1 are expressly described as unlearned and ignorant men4 ,it was not for their virtue1 for one of them proved to be a great villain1 and all of them deserted their ,master in ,his need4 ,it was not for their belief1 for there were great numbers of believers4 ,and yet it is clear that they were chosen on some principle of selection since they were called in ones and in twos4 ,in at least two cases they were pairs of brothers1 as though some family gift or peculiarity1 might underlie the choice4 ,is it not at least possible that this gift was psychic power1 and that ,christ1 as the greatest exponent who has ever appeared upon earth of that power1 desired to surround ,himself with others who possessed it to a lesser degree8 ,this ,he would do for two reasons4 ,the first is that a psychic circle is a great source of strength to one who is himself psychic1 as is shown continually in our own experience1 where1 with a sympathetic and helpful surrounding1 an atmosphere is created where all the powers are drawn out4 ,how sensitive ,christ was to such an atmosphere is shown by the remark of the ,evangelist1 that when ,he visited ,his own native town1 where the townspeople could not take ,him seriously1 ,he was unable to do any wonders4 ,the second reason may have been that ,he desired them to act as ,his deputies1 either during his lifetime or after ,his death1 and that for this reason some natural psychic powers were necessary4 ,the close connection which appears to exist between the ,apostles and the miracles1 has been worked out in an interesting fashion by ,dr4 ,abraham ,wallace1 in his little pamphlet ,jesus of ,nazareth4#f ,certainly1 no miracle or wonder working1 save that of exorcism1 is recorded in any of the ,evangelists until after the time when ,christ began to assemble ,his circle4 ,of this circle the three who would appear to have been the most psychic were ,peter and the two fellow-fishermen1 sons of ,zebedee1 ,john and ,james4 ,these were the three who were summoned when an ideal atmosphere was needed4 ,it will be remembered that when the daughter of ,jairus was raised from the dead it was in the presence1 and possibly1 with the co-operation1 of these three assistants4 ,again1 in the case of the ,transfiguration1 it is impossible to read the account of that wonderful manifestation without being reminded at every turn of one's own spiritual experiences4 ,here1 again1 the points are admirably made in ,jesus of ,nazareth1 and it would be well if that little book1 with its scholarly tone1 its breadth of treatment and its psychic knowledge1 was in the hands of every ,biblical student4 ,dr4 ,wallace points out that the place1 the summit of a hill1 was the ideal one for such a manifestation1 in its pure air and freedom from interruption2 that the drowsy state of the ,apostles is paralleled by the members of any circle who are contributing psychic power2 that the transfiguring of the face and the shining raiment are known phenomena2 above all1 that the erection of three altars is meaningless1 but that the alternate reading1 the erection of three booths or cabinets1 one for the medium and one for each materialised form1 would absolutely fulfil the most perfect conditions for getting results4 ,this explanation of ,wallace's is a remarkable example of a modern brain1 with modern knowledge1 throwing a clear searchlight across all the centuries and illuminating an incident which has always been obscure4 ,when we translate ,bible language into the terms of modern psychic religion the correspondence becomes evident4 ,it does not take much alteration4 ,thus for ,lo1 a miracle6 we say ,this is a manifestation4 ,the angel of the ,lord becomes a high spirit4 ,where we talked of a voice from heaven1 we say the direct voice4 ,his eyes were opened and he saw a vision means he became clairvoyant4 ,it is only the occultist who can possibly understand the ,scriptures as being a real exact record of events4 ,there are many other small points which seem to bring the story of ,christ and of the ,apostles into very close touch with modern psychic research1 and greatly support the close accuracy of some of the ,new ,testament narrative4 ,one which appeals to me greatly is the action of ,christ when ,he was asked a question which called for a sudden decision1 namely the fate of the woman who had been taken in sin4 ,what did ,he do8 ,the very last thing that one would have expected or invented4 ,he stooped down before answering and wrote with his finger in the sand4 ,this he did a second time upon a second catch-question being addressed to ,him4 ,can any theologian give a reason for such an action8 ,i hazard the opinion that among the many forms of mediumship which were possessed in the highest form by ,christ1 was the power of automatic writing1 by which ,he summoned those great forces which were under ,his control to supply ,him with the answer4 ,granting1 as ,i freely do1 that ,christ was preternatural1 in the sense that ,he was above and beyond ordinary humanity in ,his attributes1 one may still inquire how far these powers were contained always within ,his human body1 or how far ,he referred back to spiritual reserves beyond it4 ,when ,he spoke merely from ,his human body ,he was certainly open to error1 like the rest of us1 for it is recorded how ,he questioned the woman of ,samaria about her husband1 to which she replied that she had no husband4 ,in the case of the woman taken in sin1 one can only explain ,his action by the supposition that ,he opened a channel instantly for the knowledge and wisdom which was preter-human1 and which at once gave a decision in favor of large-minded charity4 ,it is interesting to observe the effect which these phenomena1 or the report of them1 produced upon the orthodox ,jews of those days4 ,the greater part obviously discredited them1 otherwise they could not have failed to become followers1 or at the least to have regarded such a wonder-worker with respect and admiration4 ,one can well imagine how they shook their bearded heads1 declared that such occurrences were outside their own experience1 and possibly pointed to the local conjuror who earned a few not over-clean denarii by imitating the phenomena4 ,there were others1 however1 who could not possibly deny1 because they either saw or met with witnesses who had seen4 ,these declared roundly that the whole thing was of the devil1 drawing from ,christ one of those pithy1 common-sense arguments in which ,he excelled4 ,the same two classes of opponents1 the scoffers and the diabolists1 face us to-day4 ,verily the old world goes round and so do the events upon its surface4 ,there is one line of thought which may be indicated in the hope that it will find development from the minds and pens of those who have studied most deeply the possibilities of psychic power4 ,it is at least possible1 though ,i admit that under modern conditions it has not been clearly proved1 that a medium of great power can charge another with his own force1 just as a magnet when rubbed upon a piece of inert steel can turn it also into a magnet4 ,one of the best attested powers of ,d4 ,d4 ,home was that he could take burning coals from the fire with impunity and carry them in his hand4 ,he could then--and this comes nearer to the point at issue--place them on the head of anyone who was fearless without their being burned4 ,spectators have described how the silver filigree of the hair of ,mr4 ,carter ,hall used to be gathered over the glowing ember1 and ,mrs4 ,hall has mentioned how she combed out the ashes afterwards4 ,now1 in this case1 ,home was clearly1 able to convey1 a power to another person1 just as ,christ1 when ,he was levitated over the lake1 was able to convey the same power to ,peter1 so long as ,peter's faith held firm4 ,the question then arises if ,home concentrated all his force upon transferring such a power how long would that power last8 ,the experiment was never tried1 but it would have borne very1 directly upon this argument4 ,for1 granting that the power can be transferred1 then it is very clear how the ,christ circle was able to send forth seventy disciples who were endowed with miraculous functions4 ,it is clear also why1 new disciples had to return to ,jerusalem to be baptised of the spirit1 to use their phrase1 before setting forth upon their wanderings4 ,and when in turn they1 desired to send forth representatives would not they lay hands upon them1 make passes over them and endeavour to magnetise them in the same way--if that word may express the process8 ,have we here the meaning of the laying on of hands by the bishop at ordination1 a ceremony to which vast importance is still attached1 but which may well be the survival of something really vital1 the bestowal of the thaumaturgic power8 ,when1 at last1 through lapse of time or neglect of fresh cultivation1 the power ran out1 the empty formula may have been carried on1 without either the blesser or the blessed understanding what it was that the hands of the bishop1 and the force which streamed from them1 were meant to bestow4 ,the very words laying on of hands would seem to suggest something different from a mere benediction4 ,enough has been said1 perhaps1 to show the reader that it is possible to put forward a view of ,christ's life which would be in strict accord with the most modern psychic knowledge1 and which1 far from supplanting ,christianity1 would show the surprising accuracy of some of the details handed down to us1 and would support the novel conclusion that those very miracles1 which have been the stumbling block to so many truthful1 earnest minds1 may finally offer some very cogent arguments for the truth of the whole narrative4 ,is this then a line of thought which merits the wholesale condemnations and anathemas hurled at it by those who profess to speak in the name of religion8 ,at the same time1 though we bring support to the ,new ,testament1 it would1 indeed1 be a misconception if these1 or any such remarks1 were quoted as sustaining its literal accuracy--an idea from which so much harm has come in the past4 ,it would1 indeed1 be a good1 though an unattainable thing1 that a really honest and open-minded attempt should be made to weed out from that record the obvious forgeries and interpolations which disfigure it1 and lessen the value of those parts which are really above suspicion4 ,is it necessary1 for example1 to be told1 as an inspired fact from ,christ's own lips1 that ,zacharias1 the son of ,barachias1#g was struck dead within the precincts of the ,temple in the time of ,christ1 when1 by a curious chance1 ,josephus has independently narrated the incident as having occurred during the siege of ,jerusalem1 thirty-seven years later8 ,this makes it very clear that this particular ,gospel1 in its present form1 was written after that event1 and that the writer fitted into it at least one other incident which had struck his imagination4 ,unfortunately1 a revision by general agreement would be the greatest of all miracles1 for two of the very first texts to go would be those which refer to the ,church1 an institution and an idea utterly unfamiliar in the days of ,christ4 ,since the object of the insertion of these texts is perfectly clear1 there can be no doubt that they are forgeries1 but as the whole system of the ,papacy rests upon one of them1 they are likely to survive for a long time to come4 ,the text alluded to is made further impossible because it is based upon the supposition that ,christ and ,his fishermen conversed together in ,latin or ,greek1 even to the extent of making puns in that language4 ,surely the want of moral courage and intellectual honesty among ,christians will seem as strange to our descendants as it appears marvellous to us that the great thinkers of old could have believed1 or at least have pretended to believe1 in the fighting sexual deities of ,mount ,olympus4 ,revision is1 indeed1 needed1 and as ,i have already pleaded1 a change of emphasis is also needed1 in order to get the grand ,christian conception back into the current of reason and progress4 ,the orthodox who1 whether from humble faith or some other cause1 do not look deeply into such matters1 can hardly conceive the stumbling-blocks which are littered about before the feet of their more critical brethren4 ,what is easy1 for faith is impossible for reflection4 ,such expressions as ,saved by the blood of the ,lamb or ,baptised by ,his precious blood fill their souls with a gentle and sweet emotion1 while upon a more thoughtful mind they have a very different effect4 ,apart from the apparent injustice of vicarious atonement1 the student is well aware that the whole of this sanguinary metaphor is drawn really from the ,pagan rites of ,mithra1 where the neophyte was actually placed under a bull at the ceremony of the ,,taurobolium1 and was drenched1 through a grating1 with the blood of the slaughtered animal4 ,such reminiscences of the more brutal side of ,paganism are not helpful to the thoughtful and sensitive modern mind4 ,but what is always fresh and always useful and always beautiful1 is the memory of the sweet ,spirit who wandered on the hillsides of ,galilee2 who gathered the children around him2 who met his friends in innocent good-fellowship2 who shrank from forms and ceremonies1 craving always for the inner meaning2 who forgave the sinner2 who championed the poor1 and who in every decision threw his weight upon the side of charity and breadth of view4 ,when to this character you add those wondrous psychic powers already analysed1 you do1 indeed1 find a supreme character in the world's history who obviously stands nearer to the ,highest than any other4 ,when one compares the general effect of ,his teaching with that of the more rigid churches1 one marvels how in their dogmatism1 their insistence upon forms1 their exclusiveness1 their pomp and their intolerance1 they could have got so far away from the example of their ,master1 so that as one looks upon ,him and them1 one feels that there is absolute deep antagonism and that one cannot speak of the ,church and ,christ1 but only of the ,church or ,christ4 ,and yet every ,church produces beautiful souls1 though it may be debated whether produces or contains is the truthful word4 ,we have but to fall back upon our own personal experience if we have lived long and mixed much with our fellow-men4 ,i have myself lived during the seven most impressionable years of my life among ,jesuits1 the most maligned of all ecclesiastical orders1 and ,i have found them honourable and good men1 in all ways estimable outside the narrowness which limits the world to ,mother ,church4 ,they were athletes1 scholars1 and gentlemen1 nor can ,i ever remember any examples of that casuistry with which they are reproached4 ,some of my best friends have been among the parochial clergy of the ,church of ,england1 men of sweet and saintly character1 whose pecuniary straits were often a scandal and a reproach to the half-hearted folk who accepted their spiritual guidance4 ,i have known1 also1 splendid men among the ,nonconformist clergy1 who have often been the champions of liberty1 though their views upon that subject have sometimes seemed to contract when one ventured upon their own domain of thought4 ,each creed has brought out men who were an honour to the human race1 and ,manning or ,shrewsbury1 ,gordon or ,dolling1 ,booth or ,stopford ,brooke1 are all equally admirable1 however diverse the roots from which they grow4 ,among the great mass of the people1 too1 there are very many thousands of beautiful souls who have been brought up on the old-fashioned lines1 and who never heard of spiritual communion or any other of those matters which have been discussed in these essays1 and yet have reached a condition of pure spirituality such as all of us may envy4 ,who does not know the maiden aunt1 the widowed mother1 the mellowed elderly man1 who live upon the hilltops of unselfishness1 shedding kindly thoughts and deeds around them1 but with their simple faith deeply1 rooted in anything or everything which has come to them in a hereditary fashion with the sanction of some particular authority8 ,i had an aunt who was such an one1 and can see her now1 worn with austerity and charity1 a small1 humble figure1 creeping to church at all hours from a house which was to her but a waiting-room between services1 while she looked at me with sad1 wondering1 grey eyes4 ,such people have often reached by instinct1 and in spite of dogma1 heights1 to which no system of philosophy can ever raise us4 ,but making full allowance for the high products of every creed1 which may be only1 a proof of the innate goodness of civilised humanity1 it is still beyond all doubt that ,christianity has broken down1 and that this breakdown has been brought home to everyone by the terrible catastrophe which has befallen the world4 ,can the most optimistic apologist contend that this is a satisfactory1 outcome from a religion which has had the unopposed run of ,europe for so many centuries8 ,which has come out of it worst1 the ,lutheran ,prussian1 the ,catholic ,bavarian1 or the peoples who have been nurtured by the ,greek ,church8 ,if we1 of the ,west1 have done better1 is it not rather an older and higher civilisation and freer political institutions that have held us back from all the cruelties1 excesses and immoralities which have taken the world back to the dark ages8 ,it will not do to say that they have occurred in spite of ,christianity1 and that ,christianity is1 therefore1 not to blame4 ,it is true that ,christ's teaching is not to blame1 for it is often spoiled in the transmission4 ,but ,christianity has taken over control of the morals of ,europe1 and should have the compelling force which would ensure that those morals would not go to pieces upon the first strain4 ,it is on this point that ,christianity must be judged1 and the judgment can only be that it has failed4 ,it has not been an active controlling force upon the minds of men4 ,and why8 ,it can only be because there is something essential which is wanting4 ,men do not take it seriously4 ,men do not believe in it4 ,lip service is the only service in innumerable cases1 and even lip service grows fainter4 ,men1 as distinct from women1 have1 both in the higher and lower classes of life1 ceased1 in the greater number of cases1 to show a living interest in religion4 ,the churches lose their grip upon the people--and lose it rapidly4 ,small inner circles1 convocations1 committees1 assemblies1 meet and debate and pass resolutions of an ever narrower character4 ,but the people go their way and religion is dead1 save in so far as intellectual culture and good taste can take its place4 ,but when religion is dead1 materialism becomes active1 and what active materialism may produce has been seen in ,germany4 ,is it not time1 then1 for the religious bodies to discourage their own bigots and sectarians1 and to seriously consider1 if only for self-preservation1 how they can get into line once more with that general level of human thought which is now so far in front of them8 ,i say that they can do more than get level--they can lead4 ,but to do so they must1 on the one hand1 have the firm courage to cut away from their own bodies all that dead tissue which is but a disfigurement and an encumbrance4 ,they must face difficulties of reason1 and adapt themselves to the demands of the human intelligence which rejects1 and is right in rejecting1 much which they offer4 ,finally1 they must gather fresh strength by drawing in all the new truth and all the new power which are afforded by this new wave of inspiration which has been sent into the world by ,god1 and which the human race1 deluded and bemused by the would-be clever1 has received with such perverse and obstinate incredulity4 ,when they have done all this1 they will find not only that they are leading the world with an obvious right to the leadership1 but1 in addition1 that they have come round once more to the very teaching of that ,master whom they have so long misrepresented4 ,,appendices ,a ,,doctor ,,geley',s ,,experiments ,nothing could be imagined more fantastic and grotesque than the results of the recent experiments of ,professor ,geley1 in ,france4 ,before such results the brain1 even of the trained psychical student1 is dazed1 while that of the orthodox man of science1 who has given no heed to these developments1 is absolutely helpless4 ,in the account of the proceedings which he read lately before the ,institut ,general ,psychologique in ,paris1 on ,january of last year1 ,dr4 ,geley says3 ,i do not merely say that there has been no fraud2 ,i say1 'there has been no possibility of fraud4' ,in nearly every case the materialisations were done under my eyes1 and ,i have observed their whole genesis and development4 ,he adds that1 in the course of the experiments1 more than a hundred experts1 mostly doctors1 checked the results4 ,these results may be briefly stated thus4 ,a peculiar whitish matter exuded from the subject1 a girl named ,eva1 coming partly through her skin1 partly from her hands1 partly from the orifices of her face1 especially her mouth4 ,this was photographed repeatedly at every stage of its production1 these photographs being appended to the printed treatise4 ,this stuff1 solid enough to enable one to touch and to photograph1 has been called the ectoplasm4 ,it is a new order of matter1 and it is clearly derived from the subject herself1 absorbing into her system once more at the end of the experiment4 ,it exudes in such quantities as to entirely1 cover her sometimes as with an apron4 ,it is soft and glutinous to the touch1 but varies in form and even in colour4 ,its production causes pain and groans from the subject1 and any violence towards it would appear also to affect her4 ,a sudden flash of light1 as in a flash-photograph1 may or may not cause a retraction of the ectoplasm1 but always causes a spasm of the subject4 ,when re-absorbed1 it leaves no trace upon the garments through which it has passed4 ,this is wonderful enough1 but far more fantastic is what has still to be told4 ,the most marked property of this ectoplasm1 very fully illustrated in the photographs1 is that it sets or curdles into the shapes of human members--of fingers1 of hands1 of faces1 which are at first quite sketchy and rudimentary1 but rapidly coalesce and develop until they are undistinguishable from those of living beings4 ,is not this the very strangest and most inexplicable thing that has ever yet been observed by human eyes8 ,these faces or limbs are usually the size of life1 but they frequently are quite miniatures4 ,occasionally they begin by being miniatures1 and grow into full size4 ,on their first appearance in the ectoplasm the limb is only on one plane of matter1 a mere flat appearance1 which rapidly rounds itself off1 until it has assumed all three planes and is complete4 ,it may be a mere simulacrum1 like a wax hand1 or it may be endowed with full power of grasping another hand1 with every articulation in perfect working order4 ,the faces which are produced in this amazing way are worthy of study4 ,they do not appear to have represented anyone who has ever been known in life by ,doctor ,geley4#h ,my impression after examining them is that they are much more likely to be within the knowledge of the subject1 being girls of the ,french lower middle class type1 such as ,eva was1 ,i should imagine1 in the habit of meeting4 ,it should be added that ,eva herself appears in the photograph as well as the simulacra of humanity4 ,the faces are1 on the whole1 both pretty and piquant1 though of a rather worldly and unrefined type4 ,the latter adjective would not apply to the larger and most elaborate photograph1 which represents a very beautiful young woman of a truly spiritual cast of face4 ,some of the faces are but partially formed1 which gives them a grotesque or repellant appearance4 ,what are we to make of such phenomena8 ,there is no use deluding ourselves by the idea that there may be some mistake or some deception4 ,there is neither one nor the other4 ,apart from the elaborate checks upon these particular results1 they correspond closely with those got by ,lombroso in ,italy1 by ,schrenk-,notzing in ,germany1 and by other careful observers4 ,one thing we must bear in mind constantly in considering them1 and that is their abnormality4 ,at a liberal estimate1 it is not one person in a million who possesses such powers--if a thing which is outside our volition can be described as a power4 ,it is the mechanism of the materialisation medium which has been explored by the acute brain and untiring industry of ,doctor ,geley1 and even presuming1 as one may fairly presume1 that every materialising medium goes through the same process in order to produce results1 still such mediums are exceedingly1 rare4 ,dr4 ,geley mentions1 as an analogous phenomenon on the material side1 the presence of dermoid cysts1 those mysterious formations1 which rise as small tumors in any part of the body1 particularly above the eyebrow1 and which when opened by the surgeon are found to contain hair1 teeth or embryonic bones4 ,there is no doubt1 as he claims1 some rough analogy1 but the dermoid cyst is1 at least1 in the same flesh and blood plane of nature as the foetus inside it1 while in the ectoplasm we are dealing with an entirely new and strange development4 ,it is not possible to define exactly what occurs in the case of the ectoplasm1 nor1 on account of its vital connection with the medium and its evanescent nature1 has it been separated and subjected to even the roughest chemical analysis which might show whether it is composed of those earthly elements with which we are familiar4 ,is it rather some coagulation of ether which introduces an absolutely new substance into our world8 ,such a supposition seems most probable1 for a comparison with the analogous substance examined at ,dr4 ,crawford's seances at ,belfast1 which is at the same time hardly visible to the eye and yet capable of handling a weight of #aej pounds1 suggests something entirely new in the way of matter4 ,but setting aside1 as beyond the present speculation1 what the exact origin and nature of the ectoplasm may be1 it seems to me that there is room for a very suggestive line of thought if we make ,geley's experiments the starting point1 and lead it in the direction of other manifestations of psychomaterial activity4 ,first of all1 let us take ,crookes' classic experiments with ,katie ,king1 a result which for a long time stood alone and isolated but now can be approached by intermittent but definite stages4 ,thus we can well suppose that during those long periods when ,florrie ,cook lay in the laboratory in the dark1 periods which lasted an hour or more upon some occasions1 the ectoplasm was flowing from her as from ,eva4 ,then it was gathering itself into a viscous cloud or pillar close to her frame2 then the form of ,katie ,king was evolved from this cloud1 in the manner already described1 and finally the nexus was broken and the completed body advanced to present itself at the door of communication1 showing a person different in every possible attribute save that of sex from the medium1 and yet composed wholly or in part from elements extracted from her senseless body4 ,so far1 ,geley's experiments throw a strong explanatory light upon those of ,crookes4 ,and here the ,spiritualist must1 as it seems to me1 be prepared to meet an objection more formidable than the absurd ones of fraud or optical delusion4 ,it is this4 ,if the body of ,katie ,king the spirit is derived from the body of ,florrie ,cook the psychic1 then what assurance have we that the life therein is not really one of the personalities out of which the complex being named ,florrie ,cook is constructed8 ,it is a thesis which requires careful handling4 ,it is not enough to say that the nature is manifestly superior1 for supposing that ,florrie ,cook represented the average of a number of conflicting personalities1 then a single one of these personalities might be far higher than the total effect4 ,without going deeply into this problem1 one can but say that the spirit's own account of its own personality must count for something1 and also that an isolated phenomenon must be taken in conjunction with all other psychic phenomena when we are seeking for a correct explanation4 ,but now let us take this idea of a human being who has the power of emitting a visible substance in which are formed faces which appear to represent distinct individualities1 and in extreme cases develop into complete independent human forms4 ,take this extraordinary fact1 and let us see whether1 by an extension or modification of this demonstrated process1 we may not get some sort of clue as to the modus operandi in other psychic phenomena4 ,it seems to me that we may1 at least1 obtain indications which amount to a probability1 though not to a certainty1 as to how some results1 hitherto inexplicable1 are attained4 ,it is at any rate a provisional speculation1 which may suggest a hypothesis for future observers to destroy1 modify1 or confirm4 ,the argument which ,i would advance is this4 ,if a strong materialisation medium can throw out a cloud of stuff which is actually visible1 may not a medium of a less pronounced type throw out a similar cloud with analogous properties which is not opaque enough to be seen by the average eye1 but can make an impression both on the dry plate in the camera and on the clairvoyant faculty8 ,if that be so--and it would not seem to be a very far-fetched proposition--we have at once an explanation both of psychic photographs and of the visions of the clairvoyant seer4 ,when ,i say an explanation1 ,i mean of its superficial method of formation1 and not of the forces at work behind1 which remain no less a mystery even when we accept ,dr4 ,geley's statement that they are ideoplastic4 ,here we have1 ,i think1 some attempt at a generalisation1 which might1 perhaps1 be useful in evolving some first signs of order out of this chaos4 ,it is conceivable that the thinner emanation of the clairvoyant would extend far further than the thick material ectoplasm1 but have the same property of moulding itself into life1 though the life forms would only be visible to the clairvoyant eye4 ,thus1 when ,mr4 ,tom ,tyrrell1 or any other competent exponent1 stands upon the platform his emanation fills the hall4 ,into this emanation1 as into the visible ectoplasm in ,geley's experiments1 break the faces and forms of those from the other side who are attracted to the scene by their sympathy with various members of the audience4 ,they are seen and described by ,mr4 ,tyrrell1 who with his finely attuned senses1 carefully conserved 7he hardly eats or drinks upon a day when he demonstrates71 can hear that thinner higher voice that calls their names1 their old addresses and their messages4 ,so1 too1 when ,mr4 ,hope and ,mrs4 ,buxton stand with their hands joined over the cap of the camera1 they are really throwing out a misty ectoplasm from which the forms loom up which appear upon the photographic plate4 ,it may be that ,i mistake an analogy for an explanation1 but ,i put the theory on record for what it is worth4 ,b ,a ,,particular ,,instance ,i have been in touch with a series of events in ,america lately1 and can vouch for the facts as much as any man can vouch for facts which did not occur to himself4 ,i have not the least doubt in my own mind that they are true1 and a more remarkable double proof of the continuity of life has1 ,i should think1 seldom been published4 ,a book has recently been issued by ,harpers1 of ,new ,york1 called ,the ,seven ,purposes4 ,in this book the authoress1 ,miss ,margaret ,cameron1 describes how she suddenly developed the power of automatic writing4 ,she was not a ,spiritualist at the time4 ,her hand was controlled and she wrote a quantity of matter which was entirely outside her own knowledge or character4 ,upon her doubting whether her sub-conscious self might in some way be producing the writing1 which was partly done by planchette1 the script was written upside down and from right to left1 as though the writer was seated opposite4 ,such script could not possibly be written by the lady herself4 ,upon making enquiry as to who was using her hand1 the answer came in writing that it was a certain ,fred ,gaylord1 and that his object was to get a message to his mother4 ,the youth was unknown to ,miss ,cameron1 but she knew the family and forwarded the message1 with the result that the mother came to see her1 examined the evidence1 communicated with the son1 and finally1 returning home1 buried all her evidences of mourning1 feeling that the boy was no more dead in the old sense than if he were alive in a foreign country4 ,there is the first proof of preternatural agency1 since ,miss ,cameron developed so much knowledge which she could not have normally acquired1 using many phrases and ideas which were characteristic of the deceased4 ,but mark the sequel4 ,gaylord was merely a pseudonym1 as the matter was so private that the real name1 which we will put as ,bridger1 was not disclosed4 ,a few months after the book was published ,miss ,cameron received a letter from a stranger living a thousand miles away4 ,this letter and the whole correspondence ,i have seen4 ,the stranger1 ,mrs4 ,nicol1 says that as a test she would like to ask whether the real name given as ,fred ,gaylord in the book is not ,fred ,bridger1 as she had psychic reasons for believing so4 ,miss ,cameron replied that it was so1 and expressed her great surprise that so secret and private a matter should have been correctly stated4 ,mrs4 ,nicol then explained that she and her husband1 both connected with journalism and both absolutely agnostic1 had discovered that she had the power of automatic writing4 ,that while1 using this power she had received communications purporting to come from ,fred ,bridger whom they had known in life1 and that upon reading ,miss ,cameron's book they had received from ,fred ,bridger the assurance that he was the same person as the ,fred ,gaylord of ,miss ,cameron4 ,now1 arguing upon these facts1 and they would appear most undoubtedly to be facts1 what possible answer can the materialist or the sceptic give to the assertion that they are a double proof of the continuity of personality and the possibility of communication8 ,can any reasonable system of telepathy explain how ,miss ,cameron discovered the intimate points characteristic of young ,gaylord8 ,and then1 how are we afterwards1 by any possible telepathy1 to explain the revelation to ,mrs4 ,nicol of the identity of her communicant1 ,fred ,bridger1 with the ,fred ,gaylord who had been written of by ,miss ,cameron4 ,the case for return seems to me a very convincing one1 though ,i contend now1 as ever1 that it is not the return of the lost ones which is of such cogent interest as the message from the beyond which they bear with them4 ,c ,,spirit ,,photography ,on this subject ,i should recommend the reader to consult ,coates' ,photographing the ,invisible1 which states1 in a thoughtful and moderate way1 the evidence for this most remarkable phase1 and illustrates it with many examples4 ,it is pointed out that here1 as always1 fraud must be carefully guarded against1 having been admitted in the case of the ,french spirit photographer1 ,buguet4 ,there are1 however1 a large number of cases where the photograph1 under rigid test conditions in which fraud has been absolutely barred1 has reproduced the features of the dead4 ,here there are limitations and restrictions which call for careful study and observation4 ,these faces of the dead are in some cases as contoured and as recognisable as they were in life1 and correspond with no pre-existing picture or photograph4 ,one such case absolutely critic-proof is enough1 one would think1 to establish survival1 and these valid cases are to be counted not in ones1 but in hundreds4 ,on the other hand1 many of the likenesses1 obtained under the same test conditions1 are obviously simulacra or pictures built up by some psychic force1 not necessarily by the individual spirits themselves1 to represent the dead4 ,in some undoubtedly genuine cases it is an exact1 or almost exact1 reproduction of an existing picture1 as if the conscious intelligent force1 whatever it might be1 had consulted it as to the former appearance of the deceased1 and had then built it up in exact accordance with the original4 ,in such cases the spirit face may show as a flat surface instead of a contour4 ,rigid examination has shown that the existing model was usually outside the ken of the photographer4 ,two of the bravest champions whom ,spiritualism has ever produced1 the late ,w4 ,t4 ,stead and the late ,archdeacon ,colley--names which will bulk large in days to come--attached great importance to spirit photography as a final and incontestable proof of survival4 ,in his recent work1 ,proofs of the ,truth of ,spiritualism 7,kegan ,paul71 the eminent botanist1 ,professor ,henslow1 has given one case which would really appear to be above criticism4 ,he narrates how the inquirer subjected a sealed packet of plates to the ,crewe circle without exposure1 endeavoring to get a psychograph4 ,upon being asked on which plate he desired it1 he said the fifth4 ,upon this plate being developed1 there was found on it a copy of a passage from the ,codex ,alexandrinus of the ,new ,testament in the ,british ,museum4 ,reproductions1 both of the original and of the copy1 will be found in ,professor ,henslow's book4 ,i have myself been to ,crewe and have had results which would be amazing were it not that familiarity blunts the mind to miracles4 ,three marked plates brought by myself1 and handled1 developed and fixed by no hand but mine1 gave psychic extras4 ,in each case ,i saw the extra in the negative when it was still wet in the dark room4 ,i reproduce in ,plate ,i a specimen of the results1 which is enough in itself to prove the whole case of survival to any reasonable mind4 ,the three sitters are ,mr4 ,oaten1 ,mr4 ,walker1 and myself1 ,i being obscured by the psychic cloud4 ,in this cloud appears a message of welcome to me from the late ,archdeacon ,colley4 ,a specimen of the ,archdeacon's own handwriting is reproduced in ,plate ,,ii for the purpose of comparison4 ,behind1 there is an attempt at materialisation obscured by the cloud4 ,the mark on the side of the plate is my identification mark4 ,i trust that ,i make it clear that no hand but mine ever touched this plate1 nor did ,i ever lose sight of it for a second save when it was in the carrier1 which was conveyed straight back to the dark room and there opened4 ,what has any critic to say to that8 ,by the kindness of those fearless pioneers of the movement1 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,hewat ,mackenzie1 ,i am allowed to publish another example of spirit photography4 ,the circumstances were very remarkable4 ,the visit of the parents to ,crewe was unproductive and their plate a blank save for their own presentment4 ,returning disappointed1 to ,london they managed1 through the mediumship of ,mrs4 ,leonard1 to get into touch with their boy1 and asked him why they had failed4 ,he replied that the conditions had been bad1 but that he had actually succeeded some days later in getting on to the plate of ,lady ,glenconnor1 who had been to ,crewe upon a similar errand4 ,the parents communicated with this lady1 who replied saying that she had found the image of a stranger upon her plate4 ,on receiving a print they at once recognised their son1 and could even see that1 as a proof of identity1 he had reproduced the bullet wound on his left temple4 ,no4 #c is their gallant son as he appeared in the flesh1 ,no4 #d is his reappearance after death4 ,the opinion of a miniature painter who had done a picture of the young soldier is worth recording as evidence of identity4 ,the artist says3 ,after painting the miniature of your son ,will1 ,i feel ,i know every turn of his face1 and am quite convinced of the likeness of the psychic photograph4 ,all the modelling of the brow1 nose and eyes is marked by illness--especially is the mouth slightly contracted--but this does not interfere with the real form4 ,the way the hair grows on the brow and temple is noticeably like the photograph taken before he was wounded4 ,d ,,the ,,clairvoyance ,,of ,,mrs4 ,b4 ,at the time of this volume going to press the results obtained by clients of this medium have been forty-two successes out of fifty attempts1 checked and docketted by the author4 ,this series forms a most conclusive proof of spirit clairvoyance4 ,an attempt has been made by ,mr4 ,e4 ,f4 ,benson1 who examined some of the letters1 to explain the results upon the grounds of telepathy4 ,he admits that ,the tastes1 appearance and character of the deceased are often given1 and many names are introduced by the medium1 some not traceable1 but most of them identical with relations or friends4 ,such an admission would alone banish thought-reading as an explanation1 for there is no evidence in existence to show that this power ever reaches such perfection that one who possesses it could draw the image of a dead man from your brain1 fit a correct name to him1 and then associate him with all sorts of definite and detailed actions in which he was engaged4 ,such an explanation is not an explanation but a pretence4 ,but even if one were to allow such a theory to pass1 there are numerous incidents in these accounts which could not be explained in such a fashion1 where unknown details have been given which were afterwards verified1 and even where mistakes in thought upon the part of the sitter were corrected by the medium under spirit guidance4 ,personally ,i believe that the medium's own account of how she gets her remarkable results is the absolute truth1 and ,i can imagine no other fashion in which they can be explained4 ,she has1 of course1 her bad days1 and the conditions are always worst when there is an inquisitorial rather than a religious atmosphere in the interview4 ,this intermittent character of the results is1 according to my experience1 characteristic of spirit clairvoyance as compared with thought-reading1 which can1 in its more perfect form1 become almost automatic within certain marked limits4 ,i may add that the constant practice of some psychical researchers to take no notice at all of the medium's own account of how he or she attains results1 but to substitute some complicated and unproved explanation of their own1 is as insulting as it is unreasonable4 ,it has been alleged as a slur upon ,mrs4 ,b's results and character that she has been twice prosecuted by the police4 ,this is1 in fact1 not a slur upon the medium but rather upon the law1 which is in so barbarous a condition that the true seer fares no better than the impostor1 and that no definite psychic principles are recognised4 ,a medium may under such circumstances be a martyr rather than a criminal1 and a conviction ceases to be a stain upon the character4 #a ,the ,reality of ,psychic ,phenomena4 ,experiences in ,psychical ,science4 7,watkins47 #b ,see ,appendix4 #c ,see ,appendix ,d4 #d ,the details of both these latter cases are to be found in ,voices from the ,void by ,mrs4 ,travers ,smith1 a book containing some well weighed evidence4 #e ,for ,geley's ,experiments1 ,appendix ,a4 #f ,published at sixpence by the ,light ,publishing ,co41 #f1 ,queen ,square1 ,london1 ,w4,c4 ,the same firm supplies ,dr4 ,ellis ,powell's convincing little book on the same subject4 #g ,the ,references are to ,matthew1 xxiii #ce1 and to ,josephus1 ,wars of the ,jews1 ,book ,,iv1 ,chapter #e4 #h ,dr4 ,geley writes to me that they are unknown either to him or to the medium4